Celebrate 4

John 21:4-6

One time when fishing with my dad and a cousin on the banks of the Ohio River a small, commercial fishing boat pulled up to unload their catch. The first was so big one of the men needed both hands and all of his strength to heft it out of the holding tank. Others followed, huge fish, scooped out with a big net that was full to almost bursting with the weight of them. When they were done they came over with half a dozen big fish and tossed them to us. They said they wanted us to have them because our reaction to what they were doing had entertained them.

In John 21 we are given an account of Jesus with his disciples. What are the disciples doing? What does Jesus suggest? What is the result?

Jesus gathered his first disciples by telling them he would make them fishers of men. He meant that they would be going out into the world and “catching” people who needed to have a connection to God, who needed to have hope and joy brought into their lives through the presence of God.

This encounter in Luke 21 is a reminder that with the direction from Jesus his followers could find a large number of people who could be brought in to the kingdom of God. And when those who are lost are brought in they can become part of the wonderful banquet of God’s goodness.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, as we gather to celebrate, we should remember not only to celebrate the abundance of blessings we have, but also that we should be willing to share our abundance. And that abundance that we share is more than just material possessions. We are blessed with an abundance of love, mercy and peace from God. This is also what we should share with others.

And not only should we see that we need to share our abundance with others, we should see that there is an abundance of needy souls out in the world that should be brought in to the feast that God offers. As we recognize the feast of love and grace God gives us, let us also recognize that there are so many others who deserve to have that same fulfilling relationship with Jesus. We can be the people who make the banquet full and complete when we invite the stranger to be part of our worship and part of our own faith journey.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Is there someone who needs you to invite them to God’s feast?