I will be in the 5PM service tonight…but this morning, this is the view from my pew. Quiet. Still. Peaceful. Reflective. And a bit misty.
One of my professors this week was discussing evangelism in light of Matthew 4:19. “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” He was arguing that evangelism should be done with intent. He said, “we go fishing to catch something so we should share Jesus with the intent to save.” With all due respect, he doesn’t understand fishing.
Some people read their bible in the morning with a cup of coffee. Im sitting here with a cane pole watching a bobber wiggle in the water. Wondering. Whats making the bobber move? Fish? Turtle? What kind of fish? Is it big or little? Does it like the little piece of corn? Is the hook to big? Did it eat the bait? Do I set the hook? Do I lift it up to see if the bait is gone?
Fishing isn’t about catching something. Its about the unexpected wonder of catching something.
It seems that conversations with people can be the same.
Reminds me of hearing from an old friend and wondering how they have been. Hoping perhaps to rekindle a conversation from days long ago. But not knowing if they like the little piece of corn on the new hook. The bobber is moving but are they only playing with it? Then the bobber stops. Did they move on? Are they still there?
Fishing…and conversations…are delicate.
So I don’t think that Jesus used “fishers of men” to imply that we should always speak of Him with the intent to save. We cant save or convict. That’s the divine task of the Son and Spirit. I think He was speaking to fishermen about fishing because they understood that when you fish…as when you speak to people…it requires patience, hope, and a little bit of wonder about the process.
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