Cast Away

A Spiritual Reflection
Bruce Osborn, Director of Spiritual Development

The apostle Peter was a fisherman. It was his career. More than that, it was his life. I imagine that, like most people who enjoy fishing, he was on the water most mornings as the sun would rise over the horizon, getting a head start on the day. For Peter, most days looked the same. Same rituals. Same boat. Most likely saying hello to the same fishermen as he prepared his nets for the day. He knew the routine and he knew it well.  Except for one day when a stranger strolled by on the shore and called for his attention. This is the day that would change this fisherman’s life forever. In a quick exchange of words, Peter came face to face with not only his humanity but Jesus’ divinity. And Peter, from that day forward would no longer be a fisherman of fish, but of men and women. He left his boat, his way of life, and gave all to follow this Rabbi, Jesus.

There are many things we can learn from Peter. Some of the things we learn from his recorded failures, but some are valuable lessons from who he was created to be – a fisherman. In his writings to the Christians who had been scattered throughout the region, Peter urges them, among many other exhortations, to live for God, to be submissive to the authorities appointed by God, and to be living stones and a holy priesthood. He taught what it meant to suffer for doing good and to live clear-minded and self-controlled lives. But it was one of his encouragements that captures the attention of all of us who know Christ and live in this world, surrounded by pain and difficulties.  It is in the closing verses of his first book that we find this simple command, “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7).

I used to fish occasionally. My idea of casting involved holding a rod and reel in my right hand and with a simple, fluid motion, springing from my elbow and wrist, I would throw my line into the water. Simple. So, when I read that verse above, I imagine the easy, peaceful task of casting a line into the water. But Peter, through his life and writings, gives us a completely different image. Have you ever been to the coast and watched a fisherman cast a net? It is a full-body movement. The leg muscles, back muscles, and both arms are engaged. Springing from a low position to a fully extended one, the fisherman hurls the net out over the water, hoping the net will unfold in mid-flight, landing perfectly on its surface. And it’s not just a one-time action. This continues all day until the fisherman has caught their limit. It must have been an exhausting way to earn a living for Peter. But the imagery his livelihood gives us, matched with his words, is priceless. 

The truth we learn from Peter here is that our cares in this life can be tiresome to carry around.  And our “casting” them on our Lord has to be a complete action. It is as if when we throw them off our shoulders and onto Christ’s, we can do it with full confidence that He is able to catch them. And by doing so, we are set free from the webbing, the netting that our cares bring with them. That webbing can trip us if we’re not careful. If we leave them at our feet, we’ll stumble over them and fall. Peter teaches us to start low and with our full body strength, cast them on Jesus. By doing so, your cares are completely taken away.  Jesus is now your burden bearer.  And He is strong enough to carry them. 

So don’t carry your troubles around on your shoulders any longer. Pick them up, give the world a wooohooo! and cast them on the shoulders of the One who can handle them.

Why?  “Because He cares for you.”