Jon, my son in law has brought the sport of fishing to the attention of William his five year old son who has become totally addicted each time they find their way to the lake. In an effort to be prepared for grandkids, I picked up two fishing poles and equipped them with lures and set the boys free, with supervision of course, the last time they came to the lake. Well the hooks kept getting caught on the bottom and there were even a couple of times when the lines broke. So I took the poles back to Academy and they taught me how to change the cheap lines for stronger ones and replace existing lures with hopefuls and I was once again set for action.
The boys have not yet been back but I decided in the meantime to test them out myself. I maybe could get hooked on fishing, it is kind of a fun adventure. I had cast over twenty or thirty times with only one serious bite that I didn't hook. But a couple of cast times later I pulled in the line only to find algae hanging from the lure. Ok now, before I tell you the rest of this story, let me be clear that I am the novice, and my only real fishing experience, if you can call that real, was fishing during my childhood years at the bay with a cane pole catching catfish. Upon clean up and inspection of the line, I not only found the algae to be a detriment to my success but upon closer inspection, the "new" lure that I had put on still had the plastic covering attached to it. Shows you how bad I need glasses. So, even if my fishing skills would have had any savvy to them, the fish would have found it impossible to get hooked. I hesitate to share this story, but it has such a element of truth to it when comparing it to being fishers of men.
Just as you can't catch a fish if there is a guarded protection surrounding the hook; so it is with man when a prideful and protective guard is placed around the hurts, trails and challenges in life, and the real hook of love and forgiveness is camouflaged with a layered mask of protection. It is only when we are authentic enough to allow others a glimpse of how God is helping and has helped us to work through our insurmountable challenges, that we have a possibility of hooking them into believing in the true identify of Christ.
After Jesus' resurrection, Thomas wanted proof that Christ was alive, not because he didn't believe but because he allowed doubt to interfere with faith. If people are able to see us as we are, with our flaws, weaknesses, insecurities and doubts and recognize that we have found an avenue that leads to real strength in the midst of tragedy, grief and disappointment, then that is when they are hooked on wanting to know more. It is when we share the Christ that we know through the trials that we face that others begin to get a glimpse of the strength, the hope and provision that is offered to any and all of us who seek his name and follow his ways. Just as we get hooked by our faithfulness, so have we given others a chance to get hooked as well when we listen to their stories and share ours. Christ is the only one who is truly capable of reeling us into his arms of love and grace.
We are called to be fishers of men, but in order to do that we must take off our protective covering whose fiber is threaded by pride and self made accolades, and be real. In order for us to be able to relate to someone who is hurting, in a state of despair or broken hearted, we have to be able to cast our own burdens into God's sea of forgiveness and grace and be willing to share our story. This is not to say we are to dwell on the situation but rather faithfully stand on the truth that God's intervention was/is a real part of our story and continues to be as we use what we learned to be a very part of our reason for faithfulness.
It was just an exercise in fishing just as God is exercising our ability to be fishers of men. When we invest time with others, listening and empathizing and willingly risk being authentic, God gives us opportunity upon opportunity to proclaim his power, share his love and demonstrate his ability to transform even the worst of situations for our ultimate good.
I had never really considered the casting part of the following verse until now, but isn't is a good visual when you consider fishing; fro as we cast our our anxieties unto the Lord we are freed up to reel in his bounty of love and grace.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Matthew 4:18-19 As 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. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said,“and I will send you out to fish for people.”
Dear Lord, help us to know where it is that you want us to cast our nets, and then give us the courage and the faith to follow your commands. Amen
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