It’s time to launch out to the deep. This is the invitation that Jesus gave to Peter 2000 years ago, and He gives us the same invitation as well. One day, Jesus was sitting in Peter’s boat teaching the crowds as they sat on the shore. Peter was in the boat cleaning his nets while Jesus was teaching. It was a divine set up for Peter. As he heard Jesus teach, I am sure there were things stirring Peter, a longing for more. Perhaps something in him longed for a deeper relationship with God. Then finally Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch”(Luke 5:4). The King James Version says, “Launch out into the deep.” Jesus was asking Peter to go out into the deep waters with Him. I believe that Jesus was using the deep water as an illustration. It seems the real invitation Jesus was giving to Peter was to go from a life of shallow meaning and little purpose to a life of much deeper meaning. Jesus wanted to rescue Peter from a shallow and meaningless existence and invite him into the deeper purposes of God.

When you truly encounter Jesus Christ, he will challenge your lifestyle. What are you living for? What is really important? Isn’t it true that we get so easily caught up living in the shallows all of our lives. Let’s face it, when the big decisions we face are things such as what is the next show to watch on Netflix, and where we are going to eat, we are stuck in the shallow end of life. When the major focus of our life becomes making more money so we can buy more stuff with our money, we are stuck in the shallow water of life.

Ask yourself if you are really developing a life of depth? Are you developing a life of meaning, purpose and substance? I am not talking about being serious all the time. It is great to have fun, enjoy a good meal or a good movie. Isn’t it easy though to get stuck swimming around in the shallow business of life so much of the time. And from time to time, we may hear a voice that is calling us to come deeper — deeper to a life of greater existence. Sometimes I feel I need to just cry out to Jesus and ask Him to save me from a shallow life.

Launch out into the deep. It was an invitation to go deeper with God. It still is an invitation to go deeper. God wants us to grow deeper in our faith and trust. God calls us to greater surrender. God calls us to get in over our heads and see what He can do in and through our lives. Have you ever been in a place where you were in “so deep” that you had to completely depend upon God to show up? Yeah, Jesus had a real purpose in mind when He invited Peter to go deeper. What about you? Are you ready to launch out into the deep? Or will you spend your life stuck in the shallows? And that’s Your Word for today.

Written by Rev. David Yarborough pastor of St. Simons Community Church.