John 21:4 – But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

John 21:5 – Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

John 21:6 – And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Hello readers, it’s spring here in Adelaide! Well, we’ve officially ticked over, but it still is very like winter anyway. I’ve been very busy with work of late, and hence I haven’t been able to write as much as I would like to. But today I’ve got a simple thought from God’s word, one that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while “You’ll find it on the right side”. Everyone’s trying to find, and they find a whole lot of nothing, but these disciples found the catch of a lifetime one day in obeying Jesus Christ. They found it on the right side.

You’ll find out eventually in life that your way is the wrong way, and an empty way. Your methods, your thinking, your labour… it is ultimately an empty catch… because you’re in the wrong, and you’re doing it wrong. You’ve gotta get on the right side. Are you on the right side of God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, truth? Are you on the right side of eternity? Or are you on the wrong side? Are you on that empty, barren, fruitless wrong side? Everyone’s casting on the right or the wrong side in their life, and most, if we are honest, are on the wrong side, and that’s why we’re coming up empty. The gospel of Christ is for someone who is looking for more, not for someone that is satisfied with the emptiness of this world and a life without Christ and eternity at zero.

And if you’re a Christian who is on the right side, but you’re casting your net on the wrong side… that’s not going to be a happy life. In this story, these were guys who followed Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry, and now they had returned to fishing, the old life, where it all began. When you’re saved, you’re not saved to return to that old life and the old ways of doing things… and the old emptiness and fulfillment that you left… you’re saved so that you don’t need to go back to that empty life you had before. Saved and unsaved alike, we need to get it right. If you are unsaved, you need to find forgiveness and eternal life that is found on the right side, and if saved, we need to follow Jesus Christ and shine as lights in this world, which we can only do on the right side.

We find that these disciples all night had been casting their net on the wrong side and they had caught nothing. I hate to go fishing and catch nothing! If you’ve experienced that, you know how unfulfilling it is! When we keep coming up empty in life, let’s just see if we’re doing it wrong. If you go to hell ultimately, that really is coming up empty, and you will go there because you did it wrong. Too much casting on the wrong side! There’s nothing of spiritual or eternal value to be found on the wrong side of God. These fishermen left their nets because Jesus filled their net better than any catch could ever. They had been on the right side as they followed Christ, but now they found themselves on the wrong side again. You’re doing it wrong! And yet the fix is so simple.  How to get on the right side is easy… just obey Jesus Christ, that’s all these guys did. You get on the right side by hearing and obeying God’s word. He is calling out to you, why are you all at sea without him?

There’s only two sides in life. There’s the right side, and there’s the wrong side. What side are you on? One is full, but one is empty. Man I’d hate to finish my life and know I got it wrong. And I have got things wrong, I put my net in on the wrong side… and I came up empty. Time and time again. But I see today so many Christian even who are just always on the wrong side. They love it on the wrong side. They’re on the wrong side of every issue of Christianity. And then they wonder what’s going wrong. Just think of how many professing Christians these days are on the wrong side of the Bible and the doctrine of Christ in pretty much every thing they think, say and do. And they wonder why instead of salt and light, they’re good for nothing? A fishing trip that came up donuts was pretty good for nothing! That night those disciples spent was pretty good for nothing!

If you read on, you’ll find that Peter was fishing naked. What was going on there? Because he wasn’t in the best place in life. He’d denied Christ. He’d gone back to fishing. All the wind had been taken out his sails. Nothing had gone the way he planned or thought. And he was doing it all wrong. And he was coming up empty. They’d keep casting those nets and hoping, and they’d keep coming back empty, and they’d keep doing it again. Is that you? You keep putting down your net on the wrong side hoping for something just for time and time again it to come back empty? Are you doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? You keep disobeying God’s word and expect your net to come back full of God’s blessing? The solution is simple, start doing it right, get on the right side.

If we would just get on the right side, we might get our witness and testimony back, we might just get that light and power back which can influence those with whom we have to do for God. After all, Jesus Christ had said he would make his disciples “fishers of men”. And the net is the gospel, and if your net is coming up empty… maybe it’s because you’re doing it wrong. Maybe the how, maybe the what, maybe the when, maybe the why, maybe it’s all wrong. Maybe you’re casting on the wrong side, not on the right side. We have to do things God’s way, not our own way… both to be saved, and when we are saved as we live our life following Jesus Christ.

Of course, this passage of scripture and the principle of “getting on the right side” applies to people who do not believe altogether. Because most people, I’m sure, would like to get it “right”. They may sincerely think they’re right, when they’re in the wrong. We all spend time there. But we all have one chance at life, and we would want to be pretty darn sure that we got it right before we die. It’s crucial to get it right in this life, both now and in eternity. Your “forever” is hinging on whether you will get on the right side! Getting it right is crucial for a blessed and fruitful life here and now, but also in the world to come. You don’t want to come up empty forever do you?

Imagine for all your work and efforts in life that you end up with zero. And that’s what you will end up with if you’re not saved… if you didn’t get it right and do it right. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 13:12 “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” That’s a terrifying verse, because we know in another scripture that “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” You can and will lose a lot bigger than you think if you die unsaved, in the wrong and empty. Many people are going to end up on zero, just like these fishermen after a long night on the water… all because they did it wrong.

The only true find in life is the Lord Jesus Christ, his word, his will, his way. Everything else is zero. If you’re saved, your life can be a work that counts, just like this catch counted. Your life can count and it can be full. Jesus said “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” But you’ve gotta do it right, you’ve gotta be right. This world makes you apologize for being right these days, but being right is nothing to be sorry for. A Christian is not right because they’re right, but because Christ is right. His word is right and speaks right, and it should produce uprightness and righteousness in our lives. Not self righteousness, but righteousness in him.

Maybe you can’t see how getting on the right side pays yet, just like when those disciples threw that net in, they didn’t know what was down there. For all they knew, nothing was down there, or it seemed nothing was down there, because all night they’d been at it and the lake seemed to be devoid of fish. And yet the catch of a lifetime was down there… just waiting for someone to do it right. Maybe you can’t see the payoff yet, but there is a payoff to obeying Jesus Christ. Because that’s all the did, they heard and obeyed God’s word. It’s about trust, do you trust Christ when you can’t see it yourself yet?

So to conclude, this thought of finding on the right side is important. They key to finding is getting on the right side. It calls for self analysis. Is what you are doing right? Is why you are doing it right? Is how you are doing it right? Is when you are doing it right? Because when the disciples got it right at the command of the Lord, they caught big. Notice how what Jesus Christ says puts us in the right. What he said “righted” their fishing trip. The “right” isn’t as hard to find as this world makes it to find. Read the Bible for yourself and find what is right. Because “For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.” What are you looking for? Water, bread, happiness, joy, peace with God, testimony, witness, impact for Christ? You will find it all on the right side.

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