Fishing Lessons

"Come, follow me, " Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Mark 1:17 (NIV)

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We slipped away recently for a few days at the beach. Mama was stable and my siblings were both in town, so we decided to take Bruce's mom to her beach house at Fort Morgan. While out on the beach early one morning I was surprised to see thirteen large shrimp boats sailing slowly out less than 1/2 mile from the shore.  It's not unusual to see one or two shrimpers out fishing, but thirteen is a record for me. I've never seen that many boats so close to shore and all in one location except at a marina. When Bruce and James Bruce joined me a little later in the morning, the shrimp boats were still moving slowly up and down the coast, keeping a safe distance from each other, but all staying in the same general area.  


I don't know a lot about catching shrimp. In fact, most of what I do know has come from watching Tom Hanks in his Academy Award performance as Forrest Gump. Still, I was intrigued by the sight of those shrimp boats. I wondered what caused all of them to fish in the same location on this particular day. Bruce decided that the shrimpers must have some technology to help them find the largest shrimp beds. "Besides," he said, "Look at all the birds."


And sure enough, flocks of birds trailed one of the lead shrimp boats. The shrimpers weren't the only ones who were out fishing that morning!  Five hours later, 11 shrimp boats remained along the coast. Later that afternoon, only nine remained. And finally there were two. Throughout the day as I read my book (Good and Angry, by David Powlison- I highly recommend it!) and occasionally watched the shrimpers, I kept coming back to Jesus' familiar words to his disciples, "I will make you fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) I knew, of course, that the first disciples Jesus called were actual fisherman in their real life occupations.  But through the day I wondered what life lessons I could take home from my beach day observations. Here are a few notes that I scribbled down in the back of my book:

  • Fishermen go where the shrimp are, not where they aren't

  • They go slow; not fast. They are not riding on jet skis or speed boats. 

  • They move slowly taking their time, but they keep moving. They don't stand still.

  • The fishermen get out early and keep working even as the day (and the work) gets harder

  • They are diligent seekers and hard workers.

  • They travel with the right tools to get the job done.

  • There's an initial investment of time and treasure- boats, nets, tools- before they reap a harvest.

  • They don't anchor where other shrimp boats are or where the shrimp aren't.

  • They persevere and eventually are rewarded for their efforts.

  • Their harvest is worth the work

Jesus' words "I will make you fishers of men" is a great metaphor or word picture for evangelism and discipleship, both of which are addressed in Jesus' Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).  Jesus never said that his Great Commandment, "Go and make disciples of all the nations" would be easy, but He did promise to be with us as we go. Like the shrimpers, we are called to go where the "fish" are, not where they aren't. Evangelism and discipleship require hard work, diligence, perseverance, and an investment of time, treasure, and manpower. One of my favorite mentors often says that evangelism and discipleship are a process, not a program. Jesus guaranteed a harvest when he said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (Luke 10:2) The Apostle Paul echoed Jesus' thoughts when he wrote, "We will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)


The question for all of us is: Are we willing to obey Jesus' command to go and make disciples?


"The Great Commission is a Great Commandment that requires a Great Commitment." (Dr. Harry Reeder)