Simply A Night Owl

“Come follow me”, Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men” ~ Matthew 4:19

I recall a day some years ago when a friend and I were out fishing at one of the small lakes in the area.  On any given day, we could catch our limit of trout in about an hour or less if the fish were moving around good.  On this particular day, things were different.  We weren’t catching anything except for a few mosquito bites and some Z’s.  As a rule, we were normally successful at catching fish here.  All we had to do is sit in one spot and wait for the schools of trout to get around to our side of the lake.  Was it possible that we had worn out our welcome?  Or worse, did the fish figure us out?  After several hours of staring at my fishing line, all of the sudden my pole doubled over and the line started running; no, screaming out.  About ten minutes later, I landed a seven pound catfish from a lake where catfish were not really known to be.  What an incredible catch from such an unlikely source.  Who would have known that many years later, a lesson in ministry would come of it.

Serious fishermen will walk through mud and muck, brave the rain or snow or walk across and sit on ice all day; simply to get to where the fish are.  They will go to any length to catch fish.  They know what they are fishing for, they go where the fish are biting and they have the ability to think like a fish.  I was thinking that this is the dedication that might be required to fish for men as well. 

Different types of fish require different types of equipment, bait and strategy.  Understanding your fish is serious business.  It should come as no surprise that we are all given different gifts for ministry.  One of the reasons that I can see is that we each have the ability to connect with certain people that others might not be able to reach.  Just like different people, it should also come as no surprise that different types of churches are needed to reach different types of people.  In the end, the goal is the same. 

Did you know that the average fisherman never goes farther than half a mile from a paved road?  I have seen some churches and some Christians who think that way when it comes to fishing for people.  They don’t take the time to understand the people that they want to reach and then go try and reach them.  They win people to Christ as long as it is comfortable for them.  They sit in their one spot (comfort zone) for hours and hours (Translation: years and years) and wait for the fish to get around to where they are and like the fishing story above, when they finally do hook into one, it’s seen as an incredible catch from an unlikely source when in reality, it’s just a matter of luck.