John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

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Often, I find it hard to identify with some of the godlier characters in the Bible. I think of Daniel and how he stood for God through several different rulers, and ruling kingdoms. All of that in the face of potential persecution and even death. I think of Joseph and the way in which he prospered because of his relationship with the Lord. All of this despite the opposition that came his way, no matter how much success he brought to his leaders and in fulfilling his responsibilities. I know that their lives and stories are in the Scriptures to serve as an example and encouragement to live for the Lord in the world in which we reside.
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But I'm sure there is one character each and every one of us can readily identify with, and that's Peter. Other than Paul, Peter is one of the greatest characters of the New Testament and of the early church. And yet as we look at his life, we see many instances in which he reacted in ways which were not right, ways in which if we are honest we may have reacted ourselves if faced with the same situation. It is easy to criticize Peter, but I find it far easier to identify with him.
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The verse which we look at today is speaking of one of those instances. After Christ’s death, in a moment of weakness and confusion, Peter decides to go back to his old ways, doing something that was once his occupation. He decides to go fishing. It is not that fishing is wrong, in fact I enjoy fishing on occasion, it is that he had previously given that up to wholeheartedly follow Christ and be one of his disciples. He had been trained for three years by Christ for this very moment, the moment when he would step forward, along with others and preach the gospel of the resurrected Christ and turn the world upside down for Him. But in a moment of weakness, he temporarily falters until the Lord Jesus Christ comes and gets him back on track.
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But that is not the truth that I want to leave you with. This event represents a failure by Peter. He had deviated from his chosen path. He had been discouraged and temporarily got distracted. But that's not the worst part about what he did. By the way, we too may on occasion disappoint our Lord. We too may experience failure in our Christianity. And although that disappoints our Lord, there is another result that is just as bad if not worse. What I want us to see is one of the worst results of failure on our part.
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When Peter decided to take off and go fishing our text tells us that several other disciples went with him. Peter's temporary failure came with the effect of others, ones who had decided to forsake all and follow Christ, went with him. That too is often a tragic consequence that we experience when we allow ourselves to fail and deviate in our walk with God. You see although we experience the consequences of our sin the example that we leave to others may encourage them to follow our path and experience those same consequences.
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Whether or not we like it, we are an example to others. To people we come into contact with each and every day, who know we are a Christian and are watching our example. To the fellow believers we fellowship with at church on a weekly basis who notice our example. If we are parents, our children are watching and will follow our example. I think one of the most tragic things about a family who gets out of church is the potential destruction that they bring to their children.
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This is the point, let us realize that everything we do in life is an example we are setting to someone. It is best if we set the kind example that if followed by others would bring them into a closer relationship and walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Peter may have thought it was his personal decision to go back to fishing, but the hard truth was that several others went with him. Before we go, I would also encourage you with this, if we set the right example, as Peter did later on in his life, others will follow that too. Let's not so easily give into failure by understanding that the consequences of that action will not just affect us, but others who notice and follow our example.