Joining Jesus for Breakfast on the Beach
At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows,have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
“I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
John 21: 4-19
When I think of Jesus making breakfast on the beach for his disciples, his treasured friends, it makes my heart in knowing that he has that kind of love. The disciples — that’s us. He loves us so deeply. We’re his precious children and his friends. He wants to nurture us, nourish us, care for us, and meet our deepest needs. And — he invites to lean in and learn more about who he is. He encourages us to listen to his teachings and discover what he’s called us to do and how to walk forward in it.
I believe we can continuously (and powerfully) learn to change and grow. But pressure doesn’t help me do those things.
I still have a long way to go. But what has helped me grow, change, and become a better version of myself — one that’s more aligned with the woman I believe God created me to be — is definitely not pressure or fear.
It’s in having time to make choices. It’s in creating space to process what I need to with God. It’s in sitting or walking in nature, alone with Jesus.
It’s in the long walks and coffee prayers with my closest friends. It’s sitting next to my daughter on the porch or late nights with my sons. It’s in someone who loves me holding space for my pain.
It’s in the jog down the dirt road listening to worship music. It’s in a Lectio Divina on a Saturday morning. It’s in the sound of scripture playing all night long when I can’t sleep. It’s in the laughter that breaks free when I least expect it. It’s in the smiles and tears of my grandbabies.
Of course, like so many of us, I’ve invested in things that will help me heal, learn, and grow — like books, podcasts, groups, classes, and so on. Yet any growth, any change, any greater intimacy with Christ — those have never come about by pressure.
It comes through his gentle invitation. When I accept the invitation to sit, ponder, and spend time with the King of my heart, that’s where the growth really comes from.
Our God never grows us through pressure or force. He does it through infinteness tenderness, mercy, and love.
I don’t have any answers, but I want to grow closer to Christ. I want to become more of the woman he created me to be. I want to walk forward in purpose, confidence, and be able to pour out his love to others. So far, pressure hasn’t been the answer. But his gentle invitation has.
I’m Amy. I’m a mom on four, have nearly two decades in digital media, and I’m on a journey. It’s a journey to finding greater intimacy with Jesus, discovering the woman he created me to be in him, and working towards emotional wholeness and health. It’s a journey toward finding the inner gifts he’s given and what it means to grow in him.
It’s walking into the mystery of what it means to love him, accept his love, and love like he did. It’s finding out what it means each day to take care of his sheep. It’s about discovering what it looks like to follow him — amidst the messiness and pain and hardship of this human life.
It’s learning how to sit beside Jesus and listen as we’re having breakfast on the beach. It’s a place where there is often uncertainty and always filled with questions. Yet he’s promised to protect, provide, and sustain. It’s a place where he’s inviting us into the depth of his great love and the promise of his indescribable power in our weakness.
It may not always be an easy journey, but I think it will be a worthy and beautiful one. I think it will be filled with grace, mercy, and unexpected blessings. And there’s zero pressure — not from the One who delights in us and created us for his glory. Will you join me?