Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.”
John 21:10
What would Jesus do? There is a tendency to answer this question in the most impractical and supernaturally flamboyant way possible. What would Jesus do if He were in middle school? The middle-schooler may say, “I don’t know. Show the teacher how smart He is and how dumb she is, then walk through the walls instead of using the door, then float down the hall into the gym, over to the pool, and walk on the water just because He can, and then saunter into the cafeteria where He would multiply the ice cream so He could eat as much as He wanted.” Or maybe, He would go to class on time, study, respect others, and walk through the doorways and down the hallways because He has nothing to prove. He may not even like ice cream, but if He does, I bet He can eat just one.
This reveals our fascinations with the supernatural, our seemingly unending immodesty of how we would use the limitless power and how impractically we view Jesus. Peter leaps out of the boat, swims to the shore and finds that Jesus has started a fire and is cooking fish and bread. Now Jesus could have said, “Fire, fish, and bread,” and—poof!—fire, fish and bread appear, ready to be consumed. But it better suits the modesty and meekness of Jesus to actually sit down and stack the coals Himself, prepare the fish that He may have bought and brought with Him, stack sticks around the coals to rest the fish and bread on, then blow on the little embers to start the fire.
This picture of the Resurrected Christ sanctifies practical service. It speaks to every parent who is cooking dinner for her family while trying to make sure the eight year old does not use the three year old as a tackling dummy. It tells us that the Resurrected Jesus takes time to serve the ones He loves. For every elderly woman who cuts up her husband’s meat because he lost his strength in the stroke, or for every husband who picks his handicapped wife up out of bed and lowers her into her wheelchair day after day, or for the father fixing the bike chain for his son, these are acts of service. Jesus is not too important or busy to take the time to prepare, cook, and serve. The same heart that is willing to go to the cross is willing to prepare breakfast on the beach. In fact, if one is not willing to sacrifice the time to listen, serve, and yield to another, offering oneself in some more heroic fashion like going to the mission field or working with the poor is simply fantasy.
No blind eyes are opened on this beach at this time, but some friends are going to feel loved, and Peter is going to experience some inner healing and reconciliation. Jesus does not think it’s a waste of time; He takes time to serve.
Are you willing to serve? Do you want to see Jesus do amazing things around you but are unwilling to take the time to serve others? When you serve, do you have to be in charge and/or do it your way? Can you serve without recognition? Have you become frustrated with practical service?