Gone Fishing!
Joe Alain
John 21:1–11
In John 21: 3 we discover that the disciples embarked on a fishing trip. Simon Peter told his partners, "I’m going fishing." The disciples chimed in and said "we’re going to!" So the disciples posted their "gone fishing" sign on the upper room door and headed out to the lake. Maybe the pecan trees were not budding for them, the worms were not falling from the willow trees, or the water was too high because verse 3 tell us this fishing trip was a dud – "that night they caught nothing."
It wasn’t that the disciple had not tried to catch fish. They toiled all night. It wasn’t that the disciples did not have the right equipment. They had the best tackle. It wasn’t even the time of day that was the problem. It takes more than toiling. It takes more than tackle. It takes more than time. If you are fishing in the wrong place none of that matters.
An Empty Cooler
Without the presence of fish the disciple were simply "wetting a line." There are really two kinds of fisherman. Some fish to catch fish. They are not satisfied unless the cooler is full at the end of the day. Anything less is almost failure. Then there are those who are recreational fishermen.
They are interested in the experience more than catching fish. They are satisfied with just getting out for the day and "wetting a line." If they catch fish that’s fine but if they don’t they still enjoy the trip.
What may be enjoyable as a recreational pastime is deadly spiritually. The church (individuals who make up the church) is called to be fishers of men, yet sometimes we may just be "wetting a line." We may have no concern if we have the right approach. We may have no concern if we are fishing in the right place. Worst of all, we may not have any concern if we catch any fish!
Maybe one reason some folks don’t like to see too many people coming into the church is the same reason some of us don’t care if we catch too many fish at the lake. Fish are messy. If I ...
Joe Alain
John 21:1–11
In John 21: 3 we discover that the disciples embarked on a fishing trip. Simon Peter told his partners, "I’m going fishing." The disciples chimed in and said "we’re going to!" So the disciples posted their "gone fishing" sign on the upper room door and headed out to the lake. Maybe the pecan trees were not budding for them, the worms were not falling from the willow trees, or the water was too high because verse 3 tell us this fishing trip was a dud – "that night they caught nothing."
It wasn’t that the disciple had not tried to catch fish. They toiled all night. It wasn’t that the disciples did not have the right equipment. They had the best tackle. It wasn’t even the time of day that was the problem. It takes more than toiling. It takes more than tackle. It takes more than time. If you are fishing in the wrong place none of that matters.
An Empty Cooler
Without the presence of fish the disciple were simply "wetting a line." There are really two kinds of fisherman. Some fish to catch fish. They are not satisfied unless the cooler is full at the end of the day. Anything less is almost failure. Then there are those who are recreational fishermen.
They are interested in the experience more than catching fish. They are satisfied with just getting out for the day and "wetting a line." If they catch fish that’s fine but if they don’t they still enjoy the trip.
What may be enjoyable as a recreational pastime is deadly spiritually. The church (individuals who make up the church) is called to be fishers of men, yet sometimes we may just be "wetting a line." We may have no concern if we have the right approach. We may have no concern if we are fishing in the right place. Worst of all, we may not have any concern if we catch any fish!
Maybe one reason some folks don’t like to see too many people coming into the church is the same reason some of us don’t care if we catch too many fish at the lake. Fish are messy. If I ...
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