Make this attitude change and you’ll have a much better relationship with Jesus …

Have you ever thought you “knew better” than Jesus?

I bet you have.

I have.

I think we all have.

And it’s an attitude that needs to change if we want a deeply intimate, genuinely trusting relationship with our Lord.

Let me give you two examples that make the point.

The first example comes from Peter, that energetic apostle right before he was first called to follow Jesus. Peter was a professional fisherman, and let Jesus use his boat to preach from. The setting is found in Luke 5:

“One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon [Peter], its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there,” Luke 5:1-3.

It was nice of Peter to let Jesus use his boat as a platform to preach from. Perhaps that’s why we read this next:

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish,'” Luke 5.

I can just imagine that, upon hearing this, a slow smile spread across Peter’s face while his mind churned with thoughts something like this:

“A preacher telling a fisherman where to fish?! That’s nice of you, but you’re just a preacher and I’m the pro here when it comes to catching fish. But, to be nice to the preacher …”

What is recorded for us that Peter actually said was:

“Master,” Simon [Peter] replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again,” Luke 5:5.

Do you “hear” how the tone of Peter’s comment seems to indicate that Peter really thought he “knew better” than Jesus did about catching any fish there, but he would “play along” to be nice, or maybe to show the preacher He didn’t know what He was talking about?

He did know what He was talking about.

The One talking was the Creator of all things, not just a man, but fully God. He made the fish in the world He created, and Peter couldn’t possibly have a better “fish finder” than the One who told Him to cast out his nets.

This is what happened:

“And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking,” Luke 5:6-7.

“For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed,” Luke 5:9-10.

So often our relationships with Jesus are lacking, not always because of ignorance of scripture (which is a major impediment), but because we know what Jesus has said, or we know what the Bible teaches, but we think we “know better.”

“Yeah, I know the Bible say x, but that just doesn’t fit my circumstances …”

“I know Jesus taught y, but I’ve known this person and long time and I know they won’t change …”

“Yes, the Bible does command z, but …” and we fill in the blank with what we think is “more true” than truth from the one who is Truth!

Now, sometimes — perhaps often — we may do what Jesus has instructed, or what we read in scripture, but we do it with that, “Okay, I’ll do it to be nice but I know better” attitude that Peter had.

Let’s contrast this attitude with the one demonstrated by the next character in the same chapter immediately following Peter being called to follow Jesus. Here’s the story:

“In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,'” Luke 5:12.

In the days when Jesus met this man, leprosy was a death sentence. There wasn’t a cure, there wasn’t even a treatment; it meant you would be banned from all of society — that included your own loved ones and friends — until you rotted away and died.

Did you notice this fellow wasn’t simply described as a leper, but “… a man with an advanced case of leprosy.” Someone in his condition would have no hope. Nothing would help. He was man with a foot in the grave.

But he had a faith-filled, submissive attitude toward Jesus:

“… When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,'” Luke 5:12b.

This man didn’t think he knew better than Jesus, he thought Jesus knew better than anything! Better than medical science, better than epidemiology (the study of disease, etc.), better than the reality of his failing body. He thought of Jesus as One to bow before and trust with the seemingly impossible.

Our relationship with Jesus, and what comes from it, is greatly improved when we stop thinking we know better than Jesus, and instead, bow before Him in belief that He is the all-powerful, all-knowing One we should listen to, obey, and worship. Peter saw the foolishness of his attitude after the lesson he experienced from obeying Jesus:

“When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, ‘Oh, Lord, please leave me — I’m such a sinful man.’ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!’ And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus,” Luke 5:8-11.

What kind of attitude toward Jesus have you taken into 2022? What kind of attitude do you need for a closer, more trusting relationship with Him?

Scotty