Lent: Simon Peter

Luke 5:1-11

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Simon Peter surely didn't know when he agreed to follow Jesus where his decision would lead him. He didn't know that his name would be changed from Simon to Peter. He didn't know he would spend the next few years as a spokesman for the twelve disciples. He didn't know he would play such an important role in a new Church after the death, resurrection, and ascension of his Teacher. He didn't know that he would one day die as a martyr in a distant land. He'd been told by his brother that this man was the Messiah (Jn 1:41) and he'd seen a miracle take place on his own boat, yet I wonder if he would have agreed so quickly to become a disciple of Jesus if he knew more about how significantly his decision would transform the rest of his life.
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I look to the future and wonder. I'm tempted to fear; I'm tempted to anxiety. What does the future hold for me and my family? How will the decisions I make today impact the road ahead of me which I cannot see? Yet these questions don't come from a deep faith in the Lord, who calls me to trust Him and not be anxious (Php 4:6). He holds the present and the future in His hands, and He is completely trustworthy. If I knew the future today I might be even more afraid of it, yet by the time it becomes the present I know that the Lord will have given me the grace and the gifts I will need to live through it. Simon wasn't ready when he met Jesus to play any significant role in a new Church, yet Jesus taught him what he needed to know and gave him the grace to lead by the time his leadership was actually needed. In the same way I know that if the Lord calls me to serve Him in a particular way then He will train me in that and give me the grace I will need by the time I actually need it.