Combining the Spiritual, Intellectual, Social, Physical and Practical

UV 1067/ 10000 Combining the Spiritual, Intellectual, Social, Physical and Practical
Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise
John 21 v 13

The third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He asked them to change the direction of their nets and that led to a miraculous catch of 153 large fish. He used this miracle to get the attention of the disciples as He had done a similar miracle when He first called Peter to follow Him. The resurrected Jesus was not other-worldly. Before the disciples could drag the net full with fish to the shore, Jesus had Himself prepared a fire and barbecued some fish for the disciples since He knew they were tired and hungry and needed to eat. Here was Jesus who had undergone great torture, trauma and suffering and then put to death cruelly on the cross and had risen from death. He now had a glorified body. Yet, He knew the immediate need of the disciples. He served them the food they needed before teaching Peter the last lesson of leadership- to feed the sheep. He ate with them and had fellowship with His disciples. He was completely spiritual and yet He was totally practical.

Our spirituality does not mean that we should live unreal lives. We need to know the need of people we are called to serve and feed that need as best we can. Just as Jesus changed the direction of their nets, we too should show people how to change the direction of their lives and their efforts. The great result produced of catching 153 fish led to Peter recognizing that it was the Lord Jesus who was speaking to them. The number 153 interestingly is a combination of 1 3+3 3+5 3, a symbol that after the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the Trinity is involved in multiplying the Trinitarian grace of God in our lives, in spirit, mind and body. The disciples were blessed by the ministry of Jesus in spirit, mind and body. The Father shaped and created our bodies and breathed the Holy Spirit into our lives. He has given us the mind of Christ- generous, loving, spiritual, practical, forgiving, wise, truthful, fearless and kind. We have access to the Resurrection power of Jesus in all that we do. When we seem to have a hopeless situation on hand, we can pray, “ Lord, resurrect my dead hope in this matter.” When we have a dying or dead relationship, we can command it to be resurrected. When faced with a health issue, we can claim His resurrection power of healing.
This uni-verse teaches us that our spirituality should be rooted in practicality. Our heads might be turned heavenward, our perspective may be eternal, our priorities God-ordered but our feet should be planted on the ground. Faith is meant to be practiced, real, practical and need- satisfying. As a student when I came to the Lord, He satisfied my need of higher grades. As a police officer, He has satisfied my need of being effective in handling law and order and detecting or preventing crimes. As a husband and father, He provides for the need of the family. He gives us grace to run in the race we are currently running. He enables us to face the challenges we are currently facing. The Lord is always upto date and never behind the times. There is no God-man gap. He is always abreast of the changes in our lives and in our generation.

Prateep V Philip