Fishing?

There are many good things about fishing; Jesus even chose some fishermen when He chose His disciples; in fact, His closest friends were fishermen. But Jesus actually told them to leave their fishing and come with Him, and He would teach them to fish for men.

How do you fish for men though? Some women could provide many ideas, but that’s not what I’m referring to here. Jesus wanted to reach men/people with the Good News of the Gospel, and He taught His disciples to fish for or reach people with this hope by His example of teaching, healing and serving. This is good fishing.

But not all fishing is good. Our own wounds can get in the way of our good fishing and corrupt our process. I’m sure you’ve experienced the type of fisherman who fishes for compliments, affirmation or security. Instead of giving out of purity, the gift becomes a trapping, painful lure.

Imagine being a fish and having a loving person drop tasty worms in the water to you….just because that person loves you, the fish and wants to bless you and pour life into you...kind of like we do with the fish in our fish tank at home. Then imagine that the same person, instead of purely seeking to pour life into you, is also craving something from you, maybe compliments and affirmation. That person wants to bless you, but their craving corrupts the intent. Now when that person drops the tasty worm into the water, you quickly come to realize that there’s a hook inside that worm and you are completely unable to enjoy what was offered because all that you feel is the sting of the barb and the painful control of the hook.

Possibly the most painful part for us, as the fish, is that the hook is disguised and hidden beneath something enjoyable and life-giving. Judas comes to mind. Being Jesus' disciple and friend, Judas sought out Jesus and kissed His face (Matthew 26.49). Vine's Dictionary describes the verse about this kiss as being more than the typical cultural kiss of brotherhood(1); the meaning in this context is a "kiss of genuine devotion". And in the next moment, the painful hook sunk into the heart of Jesus. Judas chose to corrupt a life-giving act in an attempt to gain something for himself. Whatever he was hoping to gain, though, cost him his life.

Jesus set an example for fishing for people--not to hide lures beneath what is beautiful, but to love through teaching, healing and serving by the Fruit of His Spirit. Life will come out of that.



(1) In Matthew 26.48, Judas tells the Jewish leaders that he will give them a sign by kissing the one they should arrest. Vine's Dictionary describes the use of the word "kiss" in this verse as a sign of brotherhood and love.

My heart hurts

My heart hurts. It brings Jesus to mind because His heart hurt too. When His good friend, Lazarus, died, and then Jesus talked with his sisters, He cried, along with Mary and the Jews that were comforting her. But "Jesus' weeping differed from that of the people. His quiet shedding of tears (edakrysen) differed from their loud wailing (klaiontas, v.33). His weeping was over the tragic consequences of sin."1

When I look at circumstances surrounding me, I see the sin that is causing turmoil, and my heart breaks. Certainly, it impacts me in painful ways, and in many ways I also relate to Mary who was weeping because of the pain in her circumstances, and because the One man she knew could have helped, didn't come in her timing.

My heart sometimes hurts more deeply than necessary because my faith, like Mary's, is limited. I know Jesus promises to save me when I need to be saved and call on Him (Romans 10.13, "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"), but my limited faith and developing my own ideas of what being "saved" looks like keep me from resting in that promise.

Like Mary mourning the death of her brother for four days, believing his death to be beyond Jesus' saving, she lost hope. My circumstances may look similar and sometimes feel beyond Jesus' saving, but as I weep over the "tragic consequences of sin" that encircle my circumstances, I must also fill my heart and mind with the Truth of who Jesus is and what He promises me.

The Truth is, it is never too late for resurrection. The Truth is, He will save me in His perfect timing in a perfect way when I'm trusting Him (Rom. 10.13). The Truth is, everything will work together for good when God has called us to Himself and we respond out of love for Him (Rom. 8.28). Feel free to comment with more Truth. It's the Truth that will set us free (Jn. 8.32).

Let's keep filling our minds with Truth allowing our faith to grow strong.



1Walvoord, John F. & Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Cook Communications: Colorado Springs, CO; 2000.