The story is told about a group called themselves
fishermen. There were many fish in the water all around this group. In fact,
the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the
fish were hungry.Week after week, month after month, and year after year,
these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their
call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year
after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an
occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of
fishermen.Continually, they searched for new and better methods of
fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further they said, “The
fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning.” They loved
slogans such as “Fishing Is the Task of Every Fisherman.” They sponsored
special meetings called “Fishermen’s Campaigns” and “The Month for Fishermen to
Fish.” They sponsored costly nationwide and world-wide congresses to discuss
fishing and to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing such as
the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait had been
discovered. These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing
Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every
fisherman should fish. There was one thing they didn’t do, however—they didn’t
fish. In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board
to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board
hired staff and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing,
to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But
the staff and committee members did not fish. Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were
built to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on
the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological
reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had
doctorates in fishology, but the teachers did not fish. They only taught
fishing. Year after year, after tedious training, many were graduated and were
given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant
waters which were filled with fish. Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They
were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home, they
never fished. Like the fishermen back home, they engaged in all kinds of other
occupations. They built power plants to pump water for fish and tractors to
plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there
to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said that they wanted to be part of the
fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt
their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the
difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the
fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they
were was enough. After one stirring meeting on the necessity of fishing,
one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported
that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch
and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So
he quit fishing in order to have time to tell the other fishermen about his
experience. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person
having considerable experience. Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put
up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore
the smell
of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun
of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be
fishermen
yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little
use to
attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. Imagine how hurt some
were when one day a person
suggested that those who don’t go fishing are not
really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet
it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he
never goes fishing?
Matthew 4:19 says And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. It is so sad that many Christian teenagers and many Christians in general say that they follow Christ, but do not do that which Christ has commissioned them to do. Our job as Christians is to win people to Christ. We are supposed to share the glorious Gospel of Christ to a lost a dying world. The sad thing though is that many Christians are like the fishermen from the story above; they call themselves fishermen but do very little fishing. May God help us not to fall victim of the same problem.