Fishers of Men / Women...

I have long said that fishing is the only true biblical sport. :-) Why else would Jesus call fishermen to be His disciples? Why did He say, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) The gospel accounts of Jesus' life tell of Him calling fishermen and then saying, "Hey, if you drop your nets and follow me, you will catch people now instead of fish! As an angler, I think that is so cool. (BTW - don't miss church this Sunday - I promise you will experience the most amazing story of a fisherman who lived out Olympic Faith, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles)

Yesterday, I had an amazing morning on the lake. It was an unbelievably cool August morning, the air was fresh, the water was slick as ice, sunrise was breath-taking, and the fishing was awesome. For the anglers out there, I threw a top water bait until 11 am and they kept coming up for it! (I digress so allow me to get back to my main point)

As I was catching fish, I found myself thinking about Jesus' words to catch people. I found myself asking, "Do I still get as excited about catching people for Jesus as I do catching these beautiful bass?" "Am I still willing to give the effort, energy, time, and resources to catching people as I do getting up at 5 am, filling the boat and truck up with gas, traveling to Jordan Lake, and spending 5 hours on the water?"

As I reflected, I found myself thankful that the answer to those questions is still a resounding YES! I love to catch bass. But I simply love to let God catch people through me far more. I am willing to spend time, energy, and resources on catching fish that swim, but I am far more willing to spend greater resources and time catching people and seeing them saved and changed throughout this life and all of eternity!

Check it out - most of our witnessing is likely to happen in passing moments of conversation--those occasions when we show, in relatively minor ways, who we are and to whom we belong. (You might want to read that again)

I think of a suburban woman who was playing tennis with her good but quite secular friends. In a conversation break between sets she began referring to something she had read that morning. It would have been easy to say, "I read something this morning." Instead, with no attempt at piosity, she simply introduced one word: "In my devotional reading this morning." It was not a major soul-winning engagement. It was, however, a true sowing of seed. By a word, she had opened the door for some further conversation.

Perhaps our greatest problem in becoming Christ's fishermen is that we miss the opportunities that come to us; or we are so possessed of the idea that we must say something dramatic and far-reaching that we fail to say the small, immediate and potentially significant thing. To put it in the language Jesus spoke, we often don't act as if we even have a call to "fish." We're out in the waters of human need every day, but we often miss incredible fishing opportunities.

Dr. Ellsworth Kallas, the sitting President of Asbury Theological Seminary outside of Lexington, Kentucky, says this:

"The issue is not that we should become more aggressive about sharing our faith. It is that we should be more sensitive to the needs of the world around us, and more sensitive to the subtle prodding of the Holy Spirit. The two sensitivities are wonderfully intertwined."

To be sensitive to the Holy Spirit means that we will be more sensitive to people and their pain and spiritual needs. And to be more sensitive to people ought to make us more open to God and His purposes in the world.

Have you "dropped your nets" and followed Him into the water of human need? Have you accepted the call to fish for people? Are you open to God wonderfully working through you to invest and invite those in your sphere of influence? If so, great. Way to go - I am thrilled to fish with you.

If not, I invite you to pray about that and read the gospel of Mark and then move on to the book of Acts. You will be blown away by Jesus' mission to fish for people. That is why He came and if you are a believer, that is what He wants to do with your life.

It is Tuesday now so I am off the water and back in the culture. But make not mistake about it - this is where the true fishing begins. I have an idea - let's go fishing together.