I'm not a fisherman.
I'm such a non-fisherman that if I said that in front of my mother she would remind me of the time I was the only one to catch a fish one day on a lake in northern Minnesota. That one day was over thirty years ago.
I remember a different one day when I was a teen my dad took my brother, my grandpa and I with him fishing. My dad was selling insurance at the time and was given access to a gentleman's fish-stocked pond. That day was a blast. We all caught several fish. As I remember that day I'm reminded that I like catching much more than I like fishing.
The other day my son asked we what Jesus meant when He said, "I will make you fishers of men."
"While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And He said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" Matthew 4:18-19
Of course, Jesus wasn't inviting them to pull humans out of the sea with nets. Jesus was calling them, and us, to take part in the gathering of people into the Kingdom of Heaven. He was calling us to be evangelists of the Good News.
Recently I saw someone on Facebook ask the oft asked question, "If predestination is true, why evangelize?"
I remember asking that very question as I wrestled with what the Bible has to say about how God sovereignly chooses people and how He also commands that we should go live out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). It's by no means a stupid question, and I'm not just saying that because I also had the question.
As I was explaining 'fishers of men' to four year-old Joshua I asked him a question:
"What matters more: being a good fisherman or having fish in the pond?"
"Having fish in the pond," was his reply.
A stocked pond makes fishing worthwhile. Fishing in Canada is fun because there are lots of fish to be caught. Fishing in a retaining pond is a fools errand. That day with my dad was memorable because there were fish to be caught.
"... He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will..." Ephesians 1:4-5
We fishers of men are fishing at a stocked pond. The very act of being fishers of men is not in vain because there are guaranteed to be fish that can be caught.
And yet we are called to fish and not to expect the fish to leap into our 5-gallon buckets on the shore.
"How then will they call on Him in who they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?... So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Romans 10:14-15 & 17
Fishers of men must fish at the pond stocked before the foundations of the earth. The act of casting and reeling is still necessary. Yet, must we be good fishers to fish? In a word: No. Should we be content to be as incompetent a fisher of men as I am a fisher of fish? Certainly not!
"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Colossians 4:5-6
Our Heavenly Father has taken us fishing with Him at the pond He has fully stocked. This by itself is a great privilege. But brothers and sisters when our Father stoops down to help us learn how to better fish we must listen. When the Great Fisher, who never misses His catch, gives us tips and advice on lure, when He lets us know when to jerk quickly and when to slow play, we must follow instruction.
We are to be extremely patient fishers who know there is a catch to be had. We are to be as enthusiastic about honing our skills as some of the best anglers we know.
The pond is not missing a single fish.
All will be caught.
You could have a catch.
Fish today.
