My dad is lefthanded. My son, Henry, is lefthanded. My senior pastor is lefthanded. He even has a calendar that has interesting facts about lefthanded people. Did you know that there was a time in history when lefthandedness was considered an impediment, and parents tried to retrain their children to be righthanded?
The other day I was studying John's third resurrection appearance in the 21st chapter of his Gospel. Peter struggled with confusion about his place in the ministry since he had failed the Lord Jesus. He went back to fishing after obeying the Lord's command to return to Galilee. Six of the other apostles followed him in this venture.
The men were about a 100 yeards away from the shore when Jesus called to them, "Children, have you any food?" They had worked hard through the evening in order to sell fresh fish in the morning, but they had caught nothing. They didn't recognize that it was Jesus on the shore. Perhaps they thought it was a beachcomber out for a morning walk. Their frustration and discouragement can be found in their curt reply, "No."
Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, and then they would find fish. They did so and immediately caught 153 fish! John put two and two together and understood that it was the Lord. Peter, less perceptive perhaps but more active, jumped into the water to go and meet the Lord.
It's interesting that Jesus had them cast the net out on the right side of the boat. Of course, this is because the right side is always the right side! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not joining the bandwagon of people who hold lefthanders in disrepute; however, Jesus always knows the right side wheter it be left or right. Because the disciples obeyed the Lord, they received a good catch of fish.
They actually received a great deal more in this passage, namely, the redirecting of their lives and preparation for Pentecost. When you struggle in your decision-making, always remember the Lord. He comes down on the right side of every choice we make. He expects that we obey Him in the small things of life so that we can accomplish His life's goal for us.
Remember, there is always a right side. We need to humble ourselves and find it. We must divest ourselves of our wills and trust in God's will for us. It doesn't take being righthanded, lefthanded, or ambidexterity in life to be successful; it simply takes being right where the Lord wants us.
