Confronted by Deity

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” – Luke 5:8

Jesus had just been preaching from Peter’s boat. He finished teaching the crowds, and told Peter and the other disciples to sail out further and let down their nets. Peter reproached Jesus that they had worked hard all night and caught nothing, but he obeyed … and pulled in the catch of his life.

When Peter saw the fish spilling over into the boat, the nets breaking, the boats sinking, and, no doubt, a smile on Jesus’ lips, his reaction was immediate and definitive: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Peter knew he had been confronted by Deity. God was sitting in his boat. His first reaction was not praise for the miracle, as we might have thought – it was complete horror as he compared his sinfulness to the Holy Lamb of God in the stern.

• Compare Peter’s response to our general attitudes in the church. Have we become too comfortable with God, taking him, his holiness, and his gifts for granted? If so, how has this happened?

• Compare Peter’s response to your personal attitude toward God. Have you become too comfortable with God, taking him, his holiness, and his gifts for granted? If so, how has this happened and what will you do to change it?

• Have you ever prostrated yourself before God, either in public or in private? If you haven’t, would you be willing to do so, or do you feel an internal resistance at the thought? Why?