Acknowledging our sinfulness

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” Luke 5:8
In Luke 5 we see the calling of Peter by Jesus. Apparently Jesus had been there before, because Peter knew who He was. Peter was obliging to Him when Jesus asked if He could borrow Peter’s boat so that He could teach the crowd without them crowding Him (Luke 5:3). No doubt Peter had listened to what Jesus said to the people. But after that, Jesus wanted to show Peter something special, so He tells him to put out into deep water and let down the nets.
Initially Peter thinks it’s a bad idea. After all, he was a fisherman, and he knew that during the day the fish swim deeper than at night, so they are harder to catch. But once again he obliged Jesus – and he and those who were with him (namely Andrew, James, and John) were amazed. It is at this point that Peter seems to realise that there is something more to this man Jesus, because he falls down in worship, calling Him ‘Lord’.
Peter’s reaction is similar to many other people throughout the Bible. When Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he fell down, saying, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isa. 6:5). When we realise we are in the presence of God, the one thing that we notice more than anything else is our own sinfulness and inadequacy, in the light of His holiness and perfection. If we come away from an encounter with God feeling good about ourselves, then we have not really met with God. We bring nothing to the table; in fact, we don’t even deserve to be at the table. Recognising this is what will allow us to truly appreciate God’s goodness to us.