Fishing For Men

Scripture: Mark 1:16-20

Song: Far And Near

Dad and I fished on Saturdays. We’d fish for bass with a plastic worm or shiny lure. We’d cast along the bank or troll or stop by a submerged tree and fish for crappie with the minnows I’d trapped. There’s a lot of similarities between our fishing trips and fishing for men.

It’s a lot more fun when you’re catching something. I got burned out on fishing when nothing bit by my second cast. I was ready to go home and do something else. We give up on the gospel just that quick. No one bites at our first feeble attempts and we give up. Like Dad used to say, “You can’t catch anything when you’re line’s not in the water.” Unlike fishing for bass, when you’re fishing for men, there’s never an unprofitable trip nor a wasted cast.

You never know where your next catch will be. For all the state of the art equipment—depth finders, trolling motors, Shimano bait casting reels, Ugly Stick rods—fishing is still rendered a highly unpredictable sport. The only thing that’s for certain is that you can’t catch anything when your line’s not in the water. Fishing for men is that same way. You don’t know who’s going to bite. Just keep casting your line. Let the Lord and the free will of men take care of the rest.

Fishing is mostly a matter of patience. The basic technology of fishing has not changed since the days of Simon, Andrew, James and John. I wish we could learn that as regards fishing for men. We don’t need any new methods or programs. We just need people casting their lines because one thing is certain—you won’t catch anything unless your line’s in the water.

Jason Moore