Gone fishing — delivering the lost

Have you ever gone fishing? I’m a veteran of cane poles and red earthworms. I graduated to a rod and reel using white crickets. It’s fun to watch the cork go under as a fish takes the bait. Many a bluegill ended up as a tasty filet on my dinner plate, mostly from ponds and lakes in central Florida or from the dark swift waters of the Suwanee River.

I preferred live bait because I wanted to catch the most fish, quickly and cheaply. Artificial lures and fast boats are for sports fishermen. I wanted to catch fish to cook and eat, not for recreation. Golfing and table tennis are my recreation.

But what about those days when the fish won’t bite? Some fanatics won’t quit. They stay at it even with no bites at all. They spend hours standing on the bank or sitting in the boat, convinced their lure is right, waiting for the fish to come to them. Not me. If the fish aren’t biting, I move to a new spot.

If changing my location or type of bait doesn’t work, then I go home to wait for another day. I’m not fishing just to say I’ve done it; I’m in it to catch fish. It makes no sense for someone to keep on fishing when there are no fish in the stream or to use bait the fish don’t want. Expensive lures and fancy fishing gear are designed to attract fishermen more than the fish. Is our goal having fun? Or is it catching fish? Seasons and weather also affect fishing. We need to pay attention to those things.

The Man who said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” was the one who told his frustrated disciples, “Cast your net on the other side of the boat.” They did and caught many fish. God knows where the fish are. He knows where we need to fish. If they are not in your boat, then they are still in the water, and it may be different water than where you’ve been fishing.

Jesus spent three and a half years training his disciples. He told parables and taught the crowds, but he held his followers accountable to do what he was saying. In that way, training is different from teaching. Training is something fathers do. Teaching is something educators do. Jesus had a task to accomplish quite apart from his atonement for our sins on the cross. He made disciples. He put them through an intensive apprenticeship. Ordinary men became extraordinary due to their association with the Son of God. They learned to love one another, perhaps the most difficult change of all.

Along the way, His apostles-in-training began to grasp the rich mercy that God has for people. Not just mankind in general, but for every individual. That’s tough. That’s messy. It is inconvenient. One preacher said, “Mankind I love; it’s people I can’t stand.” Being close to people means overlooking their sin, their stubbornness, their chaos … and getting your hands dirty helping them.

An evangelist is more than a preacher or singer who speaks to Christians inside a church auditorium. That’s a poor imitation. The real deal does the work and equips others to do it. Like my friend Zoe in Siloam Springs, an evangelist is a gospel fisherman who goes where lost people are, who gets them delivered from Satan’s oppression, heals their sick bodies and hurt souls, and connects them with the amazing grace and the eternal life found in Jesus Christ.