They were washing their nets when Jesus asked them for the use of their boat. Obviously, they had finished fishing for the day. When Jesus concluded his preaching from the boat, offshore, he told Simon to put out into the deep and lower his nets. Here was a carpenter telling an experienced fisherman how to fish! Simon is moved to remonstrate, ‘Master, we worked hard all night but caught nothing’. Then, amazingly, they hauled in a catch that almost broke their nets!

That was the turning point in the lives of Simon, James and John. They followed Jesus, leaving everything.

Very often, the Lord asks us to put out into the deep and let down our nets but we think we know better. After all, many of us can speak from experience and it is never easy to turn a deaf ear to ‘common sense’ or leave the security to which we have become accustomed. But if, like Peter, we can also say, ‘If you say so, I will lower the nets’, our lives will be transformed forever.