He reaches out His hand in my mind’s eye and invites me along. Though Jesus is God, or maybe since He is God, He invites us into the work He is doing. It is mind blowing, when you consider it.
In my time tending through a passage in John 21, I unpacked verses 9-10 and was freshly aware of His invitation. When writing down the facts from the verses, it stood out to me that the fire on the beach that Jesus had already made while the disciples were fishing, had fish on it. There was no need for the disciples freshly caught (miraculously caught) fish to be brought as well. And yet, there is the invitation.
“Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
Jesus calls out to them just as the disciples get to land with their 153 fish haul. He had previously invited them to cast their net on the other side of the boat after fishing all not without a single catch. They took Him up on that and were abundantly blessed with a net full of fish.
Did Jesus catch the fish He now had baking over the fire or had He just made it appear? Either way, He had prepared the place for the hungry, confused men He loved and ALSO invited them to contribute.
I considered the lesson here. Jesus’s character is to invite us in, to draw us in, to give us purpose so we might better know Him and make Him known. Right here in these verses, that lesson is evident.
In order to best respond to the truth of this passage, I asked myself, “what is Jesus inviting me to do?” “Where is He at work that He invites me to join in and bring my contribution (which is really a gift He gave me to offer back to Him, as the fresh catch was)?”
Is there a place in your life that you sense the Lord inviting you to join Him in His work? Where has He gifted you so you might offer it back to Him and walk in the work He has for you?
I am letting this truth tend into the soil of my heart today as I continue to walk nearer to the Savior. Join me?
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