Going Fishing

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18 –20

As a child, I can remember a few of the fishing trips that my dad and uncle took me on. I thought I was as big as any man when I was able to walk through the fields to the pond or get into a fishing boat with my own rod and reel and a tackle box. It was a joy to spend the day with my dad or uncle even if we spent all day out on the bank or in the boat. It was quality time well spent. From getting up early in the morning to rejoicing over the catch at the end of the day, fishing was something that we could enjoy even if all we caught were bait stealers.

While pondering on Christ’s word to the experienced fisherman, I have learned that a lot of the same principles of fishing apply to you and me. In order to have a good day on the lake, everything must be prepared in the early morning hours before leaving the house. Do you realize that what you carry in your tackle box plays a crucial role in what you might catch? Fish come in variety of shapes, sizes and colors and not all hooks will catch the same fish. It requires skill that is only obtained through practice. Preparing your tackle box could be considered as what you have put into your brain in the morning before leaving for work or whatever else you might do. It is important to prepare your heart and mind with the right stuff, because there is enough “stink bait” already out there on the market. If you have the right equipment to work with, you can cast out your ideas all day through the way you live and the words you say. Sometimes, you have to wait to get a bite, but an experienced fisherman doesn’t give up easy. They just try a new spot or come back another day.

You may be asking, “why are you using fishing to talk about winning souls for Christ?” Jesus did this in order to relate to us in a way that we could understand. Let me tell you how this worked for me the other day. You can be a fisher of men anywhere if your heart and mind is right and ready. While leaving the sauna at the YMCA the other day, I told the people sitting inside a simple “God bless you.” I have learned to cast out simple phrases like this to get peoples attention. Another good phrase to say when people ask you, “How are you?” is to say, “I’m blessed.” You will be amazed at your responses and even remind yourself that you are blessed. Anyway, when I began walking out of the sauna, a mid-30 year old man commented, “What God? I’ve seen Auswitz and the Virginia Tech massacre. How could there be a god?” To be honest, I was completely caught off guard and left for the lap pool. My conscience got the best of me and after one lap, I returned to the sauna to talk with this man and dialogue about his beliefs about God.

What ensued over the next 20-30 minutes was a great conversation about our different beliefs. He had read the Bible about 20 times, was conversant in world history, had read the Koran and studied many other faiths. I felt rather intimidated by his worldly knowledge and thought of the verse, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world“ (1 Corinthians 1:20)? He could run me in the ground with many historical facts, yet he denied that there was ever a god. Should you and I be afraid of people with greater knowledge than us? No way. After listening, I asked him if I could share the gospel with him. I went through the law and the thought of standing before the just and holy God. His response was if there was a god, then he would be destroyed forever. Then, I was able to tell him about Jesus and his death, burial and resurrection. Do we ever have to force anything down anyone’s mouth? Never! We dialogued, agreed to disagree, and went on our way. You and I have to persuade no one. The Holy Spirit will do the work. All we can do is share who Christ is and what He has done. Be a witness and fish for men. You might catch someone who needs to be rescued from the bondage of darkness and brought into the glorious light of Christ!

Be encouraged in your faith. Sharing Christ should be more exciting than trying to go to sleep the night before a big fishing trip. Childlike faith is what it takes, because any service rendered to God in Christ’s name is big business. We should be eager to go fishing everyday, when we have God on our side. Jesus knows where we need to go and what we need to do. Obey His word and you’ll find yourself like Peter who’s net broke after listening to Jesus’ command (Luke 5:5-6). If you and I will obey, I believe God has many lives that need to be won to Christ through our individual daily lives. On some days, you might not catch a thing, but you can rejoice that you have spent time with the Father which makes everyday worthwhile.