The Long Arm

One of my favorite Biblical stories is the story John tells about the morning a resurrected Jesus cooks breakfast on the beach for the disciples who as the story begins are out in the water after a night of unsuccessful fishing.   While Jesus is still a distant stranger to them, they cast their nets one last time according to His instructions and they pulled in nets full to the breaking point.  But, Jesus really did not need their catch.  When they got to shore, the now recognizable Jesus was cooking fish over a charcoal fire.   Everyone knows it is a real fishing tale because they counted the fish, every last one of the 153 of them in the torn nets.  (John 21)    

But, of course, everyone also knows there is more to this story than just fish.  It is a story of reconciliation.  It is a story of a man finding his way past his broken heart to the place where he belongs.  The fact that Jesus intimately spoke to Peter three times as they strolled down the beach was not lost on Peter who had three times betrayed Jesus while the smoke of charcoal fire filled his nostrils.  In those moments with Jesus, Peter not only knew he was forgiven, but he was told that he was still useful for the work of Jesus.     

There are times we need to hear this two fold message of Jesus.  Sin has touched all our lives and sometimes the weight of our sin causes us to think that Jesus would surely have no use for us.  We feel like we are such damaged goods, such a failure that Jesus is surely not going to entrust us with Kingdom work.  What we have discovered as many times as we have sinned is that Jesus is never done with us.  We can never stray beyond the reach of His forgiveness.  Grace has an arm as long as eternity and every forgiven sinner such as me or you has thankfully felt the weight of that arm around our shoulder as Jesus walks along the way with us.