2026 Reading Plan Reflections - Day 164

After everything they'd seen—the empty tomb, the appearances of the risen Christ, the promise of the Holy Spirit—the disciples went fishing. At first glance, that feels a little weird. Why return to fishing after witnessing the resurrection?

Maybe Peter was just trying to move forward. Families still needed to eat. Life still had practical demands. Fishing was familiar. It was what they knew.

The problem wasn’t that they went fishing. The problem was that they tried to move forward without fully understanding what Jesus was calling them to next.

All night they worked and caught nothing. How many of us know that feeling? We pour energy into a project, a ministry, a relationship, or a plan, only to find ourselves exhausted and empty-handed. We keep rowing, keep casting nets, keep trying harder, and wonder why nothing seems to happen.

Then dawn comes. A figure appears on the shore. A simple question. A simple instruction. “Cast your net on the right side of the boat.” Suddenly, the nets are overflowing. I paused here myself to enjoy a little play on words... was "right" a direction, or a call to invest in the "correct" or "right" things?

Either way, John wants us to see something bigger than a fishing miracle. Jesus had already commissioned His followers in the last encounter in the upper room. They were being sent into the world just as the Father had sent Him. But they could never accomplish that mission through their own strength. The lesson is clear: apart from Jesus, the nets stay empty. When we listen to His voice and follow His leading, there is no telling what God can do.

The story then shifts to one of the most beautiful moments in all of Scripture. On the shore sits a charcoal fire (N.T. Wright uses this charcoal fire imagery so well). Only one other charcoal fire has appeared in John’s Gospel—the fire beside which Peter denied Jesus three times.

Jesus intentionally goes to the place of Peter’s deepest failure. Not to shame him. Not to humiliate him. Not to reopen old wounds. But to heal them.

Three times Peter denied Jesus. Three times Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” With each answer comes forgiveness, but also something more. A commission.

“Feed my lambs.”
“Tend my sheep.”
“Feed my sheep.”

Jesus doesn't merely forgive Peter and send him on his way. He restores him and invites him back into the mission. The grace of God doesn't erase our failures; it transforms them into places where God can work through us. This is good news for every believer.

The mistakes that haunt us don't have the final word. The risen Christ meets us where the pain is, restores what's been broken, and calls us forward into faithful service.

Then Jesus speaks two simple words: “Follow me.” Those words first called Peter away from his fishing nets years earlier. Now they call him into a deeper life of obedience, sacrifice, and service.

The same invitation remains for us.

Jesus says, "Follow me." Not just believe in me. Not just admire me. Not just learn about me. "Follow me."

John closes his Gospel by reminding us that countless other stories could have been told. The world itself could not contain all that Jesus did. Maybe that's the whole point — the story was never meant to end with a book. The Word became flesh, and now the testimony continues through the lives of His followers. We are sent into the world to live the story, bear witness to the resurrection, and reflect the love of Christ wherever He places us.

The Gospel story may end here, but the mission continues... and tomorrow we see that as we move into the Book of Acts.

Take a few moments today to identify an area where you have been striving in your own strength. Bring it before Jesus and ask Him to guide your next step. Then listen carefully and obey whatever He says.