John 21:4-8 English Standard Version

⁴ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

These passages to identify two different types of followers of Christ. Today we will address the Peters among us.

Someone saw the hand of the Lord move in the presence of all. Some might say it was John, the author of this gospel, but that matters not. Someone declares this is Jesus.

Peter is dressed appropriately for work, the work of a fisherman. He then puts on his own garments and takes that leap of faith. He cannot wait for anyone else, he has to get to Jesus. Now we can see that first identity issue in coming to Christ. Peter did not put on someone else’s robes, he put on his own.

God called us to be sons and daughters in Christ. Who we are in Christ is a new creation but the same person. In this newness of self, we are not John the Baptist resurrected, nor are we another Billy Graham. We are who God has created with talents and then given gifts which we did not have before coming to Christ.

Ephesians 4:8 English Standard Version (ESV) Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”^{[and women]}

These gifts do not change who we are but rather changes what we are. We are meant to be a better version of ourselves, not someone else.

2 Corinthians 13:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Because we are all different it is conceivable that there are many ways to answer the question “Am I called by God?” Our perceptions vary, our needs vary, and our personal understanding of what is going on in our lives vary greatly. It is possible that a call from God for one of us sounds and feels different for others. There are different ways it is expressed by believers primarily based on their own experiences. If it rings true for others it is a help to answer the call. If what others tell us about their call does not ring true, it doesn’t mean God isn’t calling us.

Something in those twelve apostles compelled them to answer Jesus’ call to follow Him and there are no explanations of why “follow me” was sufficient to cause them to leave everything behind and follow Jesus. If there was one answer given that would leave no room for the rest of us to recognize God’s call to accept Jesus by faith. No answer leaves it up to each of us to examine ourselves to believe we are called.

Then comes the testing of faith. Has it done in us what is promised? That depends on our understanding of the promises of God and the expectations we develop based on those beliefs. At some point we may ask ourselves if we do indeed recognize Christ in ourselves. This is why we covered the issues of Christ in us and coming to know Him in all the aspects of His character and personality.

We will struggle with this because we are human, imperfect, vulnerable, and in many cases insecure. The fact that we struggle is a good thing if we accept we haven’t given up and given in to our weaker nature. That is why we test ourselves. No one can answer that question for us.