Becoming a Fisher - Of Men
My first fly fishing experience was in Big Bear Lake on Boulder Bay in the spring of 1963. I had been given a 9’ fiberglass fly rod by my parents for my birthday, after they had watched me struggle with a “fly and bubble” rig for the prior year. This is a contraption used by spin-fishermen allowing them to fish with a fly, without learning to use a fly rod. To me, it was just one notch above being a “bait-dunker”! I couldn’t wait to try out my new fly rod in my favorite spot. I don’t remember whether I caught anything that first day, but I do remember the joy of being a “real fly fisherman”.
I was fishing that spring day in 1963, but I wasn’t yet a real fisherman. It would take years of experience, study, and hard work before I would get to the point of instinctively knowing how and where to catch fish. In fact, the first time I realized that I had “arrived” was when I overheard one of my sons bragging to his classmates that “my Dad can catch fish out of a puddle of spit”! An exaggeration to be sure, but I guess that by that time I had become a fisherman.
That spring day on Boulder Bay I feel like I had something in common with the disciples when Jesus first called them. They, too, were fishing but they weren’t yet fishermen. Not like Jesus wanted them to be – “fishers of men”. In Matthew 4: 18-22, Jesus saw Simon and Peter casting their nets and said to them, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
His instructions were simple. “ Come, follow me.” He would take care of the rest. They did follow Him throughout His time here on Earth as He prepared them to be fishers – of men. But they weren’t ready even by the time of the crucifixion, even after spending all that time with Jesus. When He was crucified, we’re told the disciples were frightened, disbelieving, and hiding from the authorities – doubting all they had been taught.
As is His nature, God took pity on them. Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection and gave them all they would need. He said to them in John 20:21-22, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Here, in these few words, Jesus gave them (and us) a blueprint for becoming a disciple, a follower of “the Way”, a fisher of men. I call this blueprint the “Circle of Faith”. This circle begins with God's gift of Faith, which allows us listen to and learn from Him the work He wants us to do. This work, or Calling, is the second circle. It is His work, in His time, using His resources. To move from this circle to the next, we must submit and surrender to His calling for us. Only after we accept His assignment completely does He allow us to move into the last circle, "Equipping", where God provides all we need as He works in and through us to accomplish His will. Always these three circles, always in this order.
Our faith grows as we watch God work through us to accomplish things we never could do on our own. He grows us into “fishermen”!
Becoming a fisherman requires time for experiences, willing teachers to show you the ropes, and hard work to develop your skills. Becoming a fisher of men involves peaceful, faithful listening and watching for God to call, then immediate submission and surrender to His will, and finally using all He gives you to act on that calling.
“Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Like me, you may not know exactly when it happens, but if you faithfully follow God’s blueprint, this Circle of Faith, you’ll realize one day that you too are a fisher of men . . . by God’s grace.
Amen.