MOCKINGBIRD VERSUS THE
PIGEONS AND PETER WITH THE FISH
I watched my one-legged
mockingbird chase away several bigger pigeons. It’s like he didn’t even know or
care that they were greater in number and more than twice his size. And the
pigeons flew away. It’s like that with us spiritually. When we get to know our
Lord Jesus Christ, we don’t need to have any fear about getting rid of the
spiritual pigeons. If we can truly, from the bottom of our hearts, do what the
song says, “I surrender all,” we are on a path to greater freedom and victory
than we’ve ever known. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free” (John 8:32).
In Luke 5:5, Jesus’ disciples had been out fishing
all night and didn’t catch anything. When they brought their boats back into
shore, Jesus asked Peter to use his boat to preach from. When Jesus was
finished, he told Simon Peter: “Launch out into the deep, and let down your
nets for a draught” (Luke 5:4).
“And Simon answering said unto him, ‘Master, we have toiled
all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down
the net” (v. 5). Right here, we are given a great key to
living a spiritual life as a true Christian. Peter told Jesus what was real to
him, and it wasn’t a successful thing at all to fish all night with your crew
and not catch anything! But instead of going any further with an explanation,
Peter surrendered all to Jesus, and a new reality about fishing resulted. Peter
just relinquished control. He decided to just trust. And the new truth that
Jesus brought was that there were plenty of fish!
The truth is often not what we see with our eyes but what we
see with our hearts.
And when Simon Peter took his boat out into the deep waters, “they
inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake” (v. 6).
“And they
beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they
should come and help them. And they came, filled both the ships, so that they
began to sink” (v.7).
When
Peter surrendered all to Jesus, he saw a new reality emerge before his eyes. Peter
was learning that there was a spiritual reality with Jesus—something he wouldn’t
be able to see with his eyes but only could believe with his heart. When he did
that, the spiritual reality came to pass and manifested in Peter’s natural life,
and there was an overflow of fish.
Peter
realized he had crossed over into believing Jesus’ reality, and this was a
life-changer.
“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’
knees, saying, ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he was
astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they
had taken: and so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee,
which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from
henceforth thou shalt catch men” (vv. 8-10).
This act
of believing in Jesus’ reality must have really impressed not only Peter but
the others as well. They must have figured out that by following Jesus, a new
reality was going to guide them all the time, and they definitely wanted a part
of that!
“And when
they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him” (v.
11).
Surrendering all to Jesus Christ, the Lord of our
lives, is not a flippant act. It means you open yourself up to see things in
different ways.
My one-legged mockingbird obviously was not as physically
strong as the other mockingbirds, but he was strong in his heart and could take
on a whole group of pigeons. He didn’t see himself as weak; he saw a different
reality. Peter and a few others surrendered all to Jesus, and they too saw a
different reality.
The Lord’s reality is the only true reality for
us. Let’s surrender all and see just where He takes us, whether fighting big
pigeons or catching a multitude of fish, or both!
Love, Carolyn
