Fishers of Men

Matthew 4:18-22, also Mark 1:16-18

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

I recently went fishing for the first time in about fourteen years. I fished in the morning and in the evening, in two different locations. Although I didn't catch anything, and no one else around me appeared to be catching much, it reminded me of the story in the Bible about being "fishers of men." As Christians we are called to preach the Word in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2), so even if we don't "catch" anything we need to keep trying and not give up. Sometimes we can go for a dry spell and not catch anything for years until all of a sudden something pulls on the line. God knows that we are not perfect and He doesn't expect everyone that we reach for Jesus to actually accept Him. The point is that we are loving God and loving people, spreading His message of love, faith, truth and hope. So, keep fishin'. You never know really how far your efforts are impacting others, from little to large.