In Mark 1, we see an amazing story about Jesus calling the first disciples. He said, "Follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men". A similar account is found in Luke 5 where Jesus shows the disciples what He means when He asks Simon (Peter) if He can use his boat to teach from. Then Jesus takes them out into the Sea of Galilee to provide an example for them. He tells them to throw their nets over. Simon says, "Lord, we have fished here all night and caught nothing." But their nets become so full they begin to break and they have to call James and his brother John over to help.
There are 5 things about fishermen that I want to expand on in this post.
1. Fishing is an act of faith. This is one of the things about fishing that keeps fishermen coming back. It's kind of exciting. We can't see the fish. We can't hear the fish. But we know they are there. We place the hook or the net in the water and anxiously wait for the rod tip to begin to dance. We have faith that the fish are in the water and if appropriately pursued, they will be caught. We are called to be fishers of men. Scripture has told us that the field is white for the harvest but the workers are few. We cannot "see" who God has prepared to believe but we know they are there. This world is like being a fisherman at a stocked lake. We know they are in there in abundance but we don't know exactly who they are. In faith, we are called to cast our nets, the gospel, into the Sea. Christ has promised us they will be filled.
2. Fishermen are hardworking. When we thing of a professional fisherman, we usually don't think suit & tie, soft hands and weak legs. Usually, we think of gnarled, rough hands, a weathered face, a salty personality and peg legs. If we could see each other with a spiritual lens, what would you look like? Would you have rough callused hands from casting and pulling in your gospel net? Would you have strong legs from spending time on the turbulent sea where the fish are? Would your spiritual face be weathered by the mist and the salt from spending time fishing? My prayer for our church is that if someone could see us with a spiritual lens that they would wonder if we were Christians or pirates.
3. Fishermen are aware and vigilant. While fishing is an act of faith and we can't see the fish, there are signs that can be seen. There are bubbles, fins, and commotion just below the surface that a fisherman can notice if he is looking for them. Would you know what was happening if you were at sea and a enormous amount of bubbles began to break the surface all around you like someone had opened a gigantic can of soda under water? The humpback whale swims below a school of fish and begins to swim in consecutively smaller and smaller circles as he spirals toward the surface. While he is doing this, he begins to blow air out of his blow hole in huge amounts. This creates a cone of bubbles that the fish will not swim through. As the circles get smaller and the whale gets closer to the surface, the fish bunch together more and more tightly until they begin to break the surface and jump out of the water with no other place to go. Very shortly after this, the hump back whale will breach the surface as they take in hundreds of pounds of fish at a time. Now knowing this, what would you do if you noticed this phenomena happening around your boat if you were at sea? You would know there were fish down there and what was about to happen. Likewise, with people, there are signs that something is going on under the surface. Many times we miss this because we are not vigilant to watch for these signs. But they are there and they will aid us in where to cast our nets.
4. Fishermen are daring. Fishermen spend much of their time subject to forces of nature and circumstances that are far out of their control. In a relatively small boat they brave waves, storms, currents and many other things that could, in an instant, take their life. There is no debating with a hurricane. There is no reasoning with a tsunami. Yet, they make fishing their vocation. This world is the same for us. Christ promised us that we would be persecuted, disowned by our families and hated by this world. Yet we are called to venture out onto the sea of this life and cast our nets for the lost. We no longer fear death. What the world can do to us no longer has a sting. In fact, it is a gift. As Paul says death would be gain.
5. Fishermen smell like fish. These guys spend their lives catching, cleaning, moving and touching fish. It gets in their fingernails. It gets in their hair. It gets in their boots and their clothing. That smell of fish is pungent and nearly impossible to get rid of. Do you smell like fish? Do you smell like the outcast and hurting at your school because you spend so much time with them? Do you smell like the broken and searching at your work because you have injected yourself into their lives? I think of the condemnation of Christ because He spent so much time with tax collectors and prostitutes. These lost and hurting fish are who we are to be around. If we want to catch fish, we have to be around fish. And we will smell like fish.
As we consider these things about fishermen, I would like to place them in context. Fishing is a vocation just like an engineer, a student, a secretary, a mother, etc. Yet many times while we are performing our different duties in this life, we are not aware of our primary vocation as Christians; fishermen. Work is not only a place to produce a product in return for compensation; it is a river. School is not only a place to learn; it is a stream. The grocery store is not only a place to buy food; it is a pond. The local hardware store is not only a place to buy materials and tools; it is an ocean.
Do you smell like fish?
Grant Blankenship
Pastor
Cedar Springs Church