Just Keep Fishing
I have been reading through the book of Luke in my personal devotional time. I have probably read this book more than a dozen times on top of the portions I have studied in message preparation. I am not sure why but there are some things that I am reading and discerning and discovering that I have never seen before.
I was reading Luke 5 the other day. The story of the great catch of fish. When Jesus asked Peter to take out the boats and drop the nets Peter responded that they had used those same boats, those same nets, the same bait, fishing in the same spot the previous night and they caught nothing. But because Jesus the rabbi asked, Peter obliged. They caught so many fish that the nets began to break and then they filled two boats to overflowing.
This story that I have read over and over before seem to speak to me in a new way. Our responsibility as church leaders is to continue use the same nets, the same boats, the same bait and the same fishing spots that we have up to this point. When Jesus is ready – he will fill the nets with fish. Too often church leaders continue to look for a “silver bullet” to help fill the nets with fisth. New bait or new boats or new fishing spots. If they don’t produce the results they are looking for they get disillusioned and wonder why. If they do work, then they often take the credit for the great catch of fish. The problem is that Jesus wants the credit because he is the one who make it happen.
I am not saying the we shouldn’t continually check the nets and the boats and the bait and the fishing spots but we do need to free ourselves from the responsibility for how many fish we catch. That is Jesus’ responsibility. If he says so – then the nets will be filled. But maybe right now – the nets are going to remain empty so that we first prove our faithfulness to fishing instead of our constant craving for full nets. If we faithfully fish – Jesus in his time – when he says so – he will fill our nets. Let’s set sail.