In the last chapter of John we read that after the crucifixion Peter, James, John and two other disciples went fishing one night on the Sea of Galilee, but when morning came, they had not caught a single fish. A man who was grilling fish on the shore called out to them and told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat; it was Jesus, but they didn’t recognize Him. When they did as He suggested, their net was so full of large fish they couldn’t drag it into the boat. At this point Peter recognized Jesus and jumped into the water heading for shore and Jesus, while the rest brought the boat to shore dragging the net behind them. When they reached the shore the first thing they did (instead of greeting the risen Jesus) was . . . count the fish! Not only that, the author, John, since he was a fisherman, thought it was important to record the number – 153! You just can’t take the fisherman out of the fisher of men. Note that Jesus didn’t rebuke them for counting the fish; he had called these fishermen and had utilized their passion and skill for fishing.   
 As an aside, you can’t take the analogy “fisher of men” too far; fishing doesn’t have a good outcome for the fish, whereas those caught by a fisher of men are rewarded with God’s grace.

 It is sometimes fun to picture how events in the Gospels would be if they were taking place today. What if Jesus had called a group of golfers to be his disciples? I think he would have used their skills and love for the game to serve his ministries: their ability to operate under pressure, their concentration and avoidance of distractions, their tolerance of frustration, their dedication and willingness to practice, and their striving towards perfection would have all been utilized. I can just see it now; a recently resurrected Jesus appears to a foursome of golfers, who are having a bad day on the course. He tells them to use a slightly different grip on their clubs and address the ball slightly more forward. They do as He says, and when they reach the green, they are all putting for eagles. They then see Him standing at the edge of the green and realize who He is. Of course, being golfers, they hole out for their eagles before running to embrace Him! Again, Jesus does not rebuke them.

 Well, in fact, Jesus does call golfers to discipleship, and some do follow Him. I once had a member of the golf team in class. He was a close friend of the professional golfer Webb Simpson, and he told me how blessed Simpson felt by meeting for Bible study with a group of other PGA golfers during each tournament. I think you know the point of this. Jesus calls each of us to discipleship, and we need to accept His call and have faith that He will use our skills and passions regardless of what they are. He can even use a math person like me. I have to admit, however, that after starting to write this, I stopped and factored 153 and 154 to see if either was interesting (153 = 3 x 3 x 17 and 154 = 2 x 7 x 11 – not very interesting to my mind). See, you can’t take the math out of the math person. Why 154? Jesus was grilling another fish on the shore.

 Read John 21:1-14, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim

Originally posted February 26, 2017