Recently I had a great time fishing. Fishing had been my childhood pleasure and also a blessing to my family because of the fish we had for our meals. I have always enjoyed this activity but it had been a long time since I last fished. So I just couldn’t pass up this chance of touching the fishing rod again.
During my working holiday at the Retreat Centre, I was granted the pleasure to fish at my own leisure. Thus, for two weeks, I spent a good part of my free time watching the fish swimming in the pond and also watching some boys who came to fish. The owner told me to try my luck anytime I wanted. We also fished together, the host and the volunteers. It was a good way to foster better understanding and friendship.
I thought I could show off my skills as I had been an ardent angler as a child. However, I was greatly surprised that fishing was no longer that easy. I remember that the fish always came to my bait and I could catch fish after fish with just a simple hook, a thread line and an earthworm. The fish in the pond here seemed smart and not hungry. They just refused to eat my bait or they secretly nibbled away the fat juicy earthworm without my knowledge. Only the inexperienced young fish got caught.
This got me thinking about what Jesus told his disciples, Peter and his gang, about being fishers of men. I talked to God about it and prayed about this fishing experience which was a new insight for me.
In the past, the fish in the pond and river were rather hungry and they had to compete for food. Perhaps, they were more ignorant and unexposed to human activities then. They were thus rather simple-minded and easy to catch. As time went by, they had learnt the hard way that human beings were their enemies. I believe mother fish should have told her children about the danger of being caught if they were greedy. They seem to have grown intelligent through experience. How else can one explain why they avoid the line and hook?!
Secondly, the pond can be likened to the society we are in. The fish are the people, big and small. It is easier to get the small fish as children are easier to bring to Sunday school and Children fellowship. To fish the adults on the other hand is so much harder. I once visited a student’s family and the aunt told me that a church handed out sugar and flour if they would join them for a Sunday worship. They went and received quite a few packets as each member could get one. I believe this tactic would not work in the urban area. Perhaps in the rural villages such method could attract people to come but they would leave once the benefit is not there.
Many people feel that they don’t need God because they have everything they want. They are not in want materially. Thus, there is no need for a God to sustain their needs. Besides, there are so many wonderful things to enjoy in life that there isn’t much time left for religious matters. Religion is often thought to be a need for the weak and unfortunate who cannot handle their troubles in life.
Without God’s intervention, being a fisher of men cannot bear fruit. We need to pray hard to let God intervene in our ministry to bring people to God. There are many kinds of people and there is no standard formula; instead we need to ask God to prepare people’s hearts and show us the right timing and grant us the understanding of the ones we are caring for. We are to bring people to our God and not to our activities. Our God will surely guide us to fish people who are ready for his kingdom!