拉夫吉在斯里蘭卡從事青年事工，已超過十年之久。他常和年輕人一起交流，和他們玩在一起、聽他們說話、開導和教育他們，甚至直到深夜。他喜歡服事年輕人，但有時看著大有前途的學生離開信仰，卻使他沮喪不已，讓他覺得自己就像路加福音5章裡的西門彼得一樣。

當時西門整夜勞碌地捕魚，卻一無所獲（5節），他既灰心又困倦。然而，當耶穌要他「把船開到水深之處，下網打魚」（4節）的時候，西門回答說：「依從祢的話，我就下網。」（5節）

西門能如此順服，可真不容易！身為一名經驗老到的漁夫，他當然知道太陽升起後魚群便會潛入湖底，而他們使用的拖網根本撈不到深處的魚群。

然而，他願意信賴耶穌，也因此得著獎賞。西門不僅滿載而歸，還更深切地認識了耶穌的身分。西門不再稱呼耶穌「夫子」（5節），而是稱祂為「主」（8節）。的確，「聽從」常能使我們親眼看見上帝的作為，並與祂更親近。

或許，此時上帝也正在呼喚你再次「下網打魚」，願我們能像西門那樣回應說：「依從祢的話，我就下網。」

A man named Refuge Rabindranath has been a youth worker in Sri Lanka for more than ten years. He often interacts with the youth late into the night—playing with them, listening to them, counseling and teaching them. He enjoys working with the young people, but it can be disheartening when promising students sometimes walk away from the faith. Some days he feels a bit like Simon Peter in Luke 5.

Simon had been working hard all night but caught no fish (v. 5). He felt discouraged and tired. Yet when Jesus told him to “put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v. 4), Simon replied, “Because you say so, I will let down the nets” (v. 5).

Simon’s obedience is remarkable. As a seasoned fisherman, he knew that fish move to the bottom of the lake when the sun is up, and the dragnets they used could not go deep enough to catch those fish.

His willingness to trust Jesus was rewarded. Not only did Simon catch a large number of fish, he gained a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. He moved from calling Jesus “Master” (v. 5) to calling Him “Lord” (v. 8). Indeed, “listening” often allows us to see the works of God firsthand and draw closer to Him.

Perhaps God is calling you to “let down your nets again.” May we reply to the Lord as Simon did: “Because You say so, I will.”