Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Near the Savior - Luke 5:8

Luke 5:8
But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

When a humble person is confronted by God's holiness, he realizes that he is unworthy to be in the presence of God. He becomes so ashamed of his sins, and realizes that his sins have created a huge gap between him and God! And so there's a part of him that wants to be near God, and there's another part of him that realizes that as a sinner, he can't be near God.



This combination of brutal honesty about one's own unworthiness on the one hand, and great reverence toward God on the other hand – this is where every true believer starts. True faith begins with true repentance and true repentance begins with a realistic understanding of the vast difference between you and God. This is where we need to start. But, as Peter's own story shows us, God does not want us to stop at this point.

Do not fear,” Jesus said to Peter in verse 10. Jesus planned to save Peter by paying the penalty for his sins on Calvary.

Peter may not have fully understood at the time what Jesus meant by “Do not fear,” but eventually he did. After Christ's death and resurrection, he appeared to Peter once again in John chapter 21. The situation was the same. Peter had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. As he were returning, Jesus was standing on the shore, and he told him to let down the nets again, and again, there was a miraculous catch! Now, notice how Peter reacted this time. Instead of recoiling from Jesus, he threw himself into the sea and swam toward Jesus with all his might.

Why the difference? Because Peter had realized that the best place for a sinner to be is close to Jesus.



We have a reason to be just as excited as Peter, if we know that Christ is our Savior from our sins.

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