Luke 5

In this chapter, Jesus tells the fishermen to let down their nets.

Luk 5:6
When they had done this,
they caught a great multitude of fish,
and their net was breaking.
Luk 5:7
They beckoned to their partners in the other boat,
that they should come and help them.
They came, and filled both boats,
so that they began to sink.

This had to be the best catch of their lives!

Can you imagine catching so many fish
that even TWO boats begin to sink?
And what did they do with such a magnificent catch?

Luk 5:11
When they had brought their boats to land,
they left everything, and followed him.

They left two heapin' boatloads o' fish on the shore
and walked away from ALL of it.

that's cool.

Ya know, I always try to rationalize some kind of
explanation that makes miracles more believable.
This is an example of that, because I could choose to
interpret this miracle in at least two different ways.

One way would be that Jesus wanted to make a point
so he used his power to personally create those fish
in that spot. He just made them or at least made them
be there when he wanted them to be there.

Another way is to believe that those fish were there on
their own anyway, that the whole natural unfolding
of the universe just happened to cause that school of
fish to be there at that time, and that Jesus was so in
tune with life that the event presented itself at the
precise moment that it would be useful to glorify God.

For some reason, that second possibility is way more
awesome to me!

In my own life I have been aware of some
pretty interesting coincidences, and I think if one is
truly in the word or on the path or in tune or whatever,
those kinds of things will happen.

on the other hand....

Jesus goes on to heal a leper and a paralyzed man
(who immediately gets up and walks, even though
my scientific mind tells me his muscles would be
atrophied)
and I must admit I CANNOT think of a rational
scenario that makes these things possible.

I guess my little paradigm is too restrictive, eh?