In relationship terms we were old now – all in our late twenties and early thirties, something we were vaguely conscious of as the sand crunched beneath us on a late night in Santa Cruz. People often go to the beach to find solace in the ambience of the waves and gentle ocean breezes, but for us it only seemed to emphasize what we didn’t have. Maybe it had that effect for all the couples walking at the shoreline, but for our group of bachelors it was just a reminder of time marching on without us. The stars shone brightly in the sky that night, and on the beach for miles around the flickering of distant bonfires could be seen standing out in the darkness. We weren’t headed in any particular direction, but in the distance we saw an isolated fire burning brightly with no one around it. For a while we used the fire as a beacon to guide us in the dark, but our curiosity rose when no one came to it.
Arriving at the fire we were shocked to find it blazing with fresh wood underneath as if newly made. The cool ocean air was starting to penetrate our clothing, so we weren’t about to waste the opportunity in front of us. The three of us sat around the fire and its warmth soaked in us and chased away the cold. It was a perfect moment, where the sounds of the beach, the stars in the sky, and the fellowship of brothers all seemed to confirm one thing – there is nothing else you need. We were all Christians who loved God, but until that moment we were consumed with the cares of life. What we felt as we walked along the beach were the concerns of a temporary existence, but in that place of fellowship we were experiencing something far greater – something eternal.
A couple thousand years before a group of men not unlike us had a similar experience as they sat on a fishing boat all night at sea. The Lord had risen from the dead and appeared to them, but since that moment everything was back to life as usual. There was nothing more exciting than to be with JESUS – everyday was an adventure that would unfold with miraculous events. But now that He was gone all the old concerns came rushing back in – make money, find a wife, raise a family. Peter was already a married man with a fishing business when JESUS came into his life, and he left the business to follow Him as a disciple. Now back on his old fishing boat like nothing ever happened, he couldn’t help but feel empty inside when they couldn’t catch anything. All of this changed in an instant when they heard a voice from the shoreline yelling, “Children, do you have any meat?”
It didn’t take long to figure out it was the Lord when after obeying His voice to cast their nets on the other side of the boat they immediately swelled with fish. Jumping overboard into the frigid water, Peter swam to the shoreline where he saw a fire of coals burning with fish and bread. At that moment, the fish he previously worked so hard to find no longer meant anything to Peter – all that mattered was being with the Lord. The disciples pulled the net loaded with fish to the shore where fish were already baking, and JESUS asked Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these?” Fish or the Lord, the answer was easy for Peter, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Three times Jesus asked Peter that same question, and He responded the same way after Peter’s response, “Feed my sheep.”
When my brothers and I sat down at that fire on the beach, like the disciples concerns over fish, our concerns over relationships seemed silly in the presence of the LORD. God prepared us a place on the beach just as He had prepared a place for the disciples on a similar beach long ago, and what were relationships to God? When JESUS provided all those fish in an instant for the disciples, He made it very clear that it was no problem for Him to provide. But beyond His ability to provide relationships, did we value relationships more than Him? On that beach in Santa Cruz, there were many couples walking along the beach – but every single one of those relationships would one day end. In the presence of the LORD in our fellowship by the fire, we had a beautiful relationship in JESUS that would never end.
