Fishing for men

Matthew 4: 18-20
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.


I went fishing this weekend with my family, and as I sat there line in the water, watching, and waiting, I started thinking. You know, there is a reason that Christ chose fishermen as his first disciples. They were well suited for the task at hand. They already had one thing that so many lack….patience.

As I sat there, line in the water, nothing happing, I noticed the people around me. I realized there are a lot of “pole owners” but not a lot of fishermen. People would come set up, and immediately start getting restless when they did not get a bite right off the bat. They would cast and reel, cast and reel. Change out bait, then cast and reel. You could tell that they were ready to throw in the towel, and after about an hour that’s what they did. Then you had the fishermen, not in a hurry at all, they came for the long haul. They are deliberate in their cast, and had patience on the line. They will wait as long as it takes. Now even they don’t always catch a fish, but they “get it”. They put forth the effort and understand that they will not be sucsessful every time.

I got to talking to one guy, and he made a great point, he said, “you know, that’s why they call it fishing instead of catching!” I could not help but think, Christ did not “catch” all that he wanted when he was here fishing for men, but he did not throw in the towel! He knew that even though he put forth the effort, not all would listen. Just like a fisherman though he is patience, he waits and is deliberate in his actions. HE knows that very few come to Christ on the first encounter, and it is a process that starts with acceptance and grows into faith.

When Christ gave us this great commission it was with the understanding that we should be like the first disciples, fishermen. We should take our time, and understand that Coming to Christ is not a weekend event. It is a lifelong process. Once we understand that, then maybe we can start to understand the patience needed to bring others along for the journey with us. SO often I see, and hear people talking about saving everyone, they want to save everyone they meet. Don’t misunderstand me that would be a wonderful thing, but realistically it lacks follow through.

When we think back to how much we had to change ourselves to “get right” (and remember that no matter how right you are, you are still short) then we should be able to understand the care needed when dealing with others. So my point is a simple as this, don’t show up for the short trip. Stay for the long haul, it takes patience, it takes determination, but most of all it takes heart. You have to understand that you will not catch something everyday, but the ones that you do catch……”make them keepers”


Peace,
Rev. T