“Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man”
“….Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men” Lk 5: 8,10
I’ve read this many times, but never really looked at the exchange this way. Simon seems to be overwhelmed by Jesus, both his words and the miracle of his nets filled with fish. He is in awe and recognizes his sinfulness in Jesus’ presence, as we all would, I am sure.
And how does Jesus respond? As he did so many times, and as he still does, ‘do not be not afraid’. Afraid of what?
Afraid of God? I don’t think so, here God was, sitting in his boat, speaking with the crowds…a message of love.
Afraid of his sin? Perhaps that is it.
‘Simon, don’t be afraid of your sin. I am bigger than your sin. Do not let your sin keep you from me. Do not let your sin hinder you for the plans that I have for you’.
‘Do not be afraid’ – words for Simon then, words for us today.
Reflections on the Journey 
I too think that Jesus tells Simon not to be afraid of your sin. Don’t let your sin stop you. I will work through your sin. All will be well…
Thank you for this thought for today, Andie. I will feed on it 🙂
A little like Adam and Eve running away to hide..don’t you think Claire?
A soothing, truthful message to the perfectionist in us.
🙂 Sin by nature may divide us, but God in his goodness brings us into communion with him.
So true Jade…and we are most grateful!
I wrote a comment here but then it didn’t show up. Not sure if it’ll show up later…but I want to say how much I love this post.
We don’t have to be afraid of sin… God is greater than our sin…we just confess to God our desire to be with him and ask for his help in avoiding sins. 🙂 🙂 We begin to act from a place of love instead of habit and selfishness.
A very complex character Peter; I often relate to him. Quick to talk and full of bravado – he told Jesus that He should not be taken and killed, he did not want Him to wash his feet, and even used his sword to attack someone when Jesus was arrested. Yet, this very man who showed courage often doubted. When he stepped out in the sea towards Jesus and nearly drowned having lost Faith, and when He denied knowing Christ three times.
Let us remember him when we too stumble and falter with our Faith from time to time. He was forgiven often … and so are we.
God bless.
Oh, I relate to him as well Victor. After all that time with Jesus and he still stumbled and fell, just like us.
Words filled with such grace and love. Thank you for this beautiful reminder that nothing can ever separate us from Him.
Thank you, too, for visiting my blog. It is always such a delight to meet new friends.
Thank you Linda. Looking forward to exploring more on your blog.
so good what you have shared … so very good
Thanks S. Have a great day!
Lovely blog you have here, Andie! Thanks for visiting mine. 🙂