Getting Any Bites?

Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. John 21:2-3

From my boyhood I have loved fishing. Few things get me as excited or are as enjoyable as a fish on the end of my line. It was no accident that Jesus’s first disciples were fishermen, nor an accident that the leader among the disciples was a fisherman.

You must have faith to catch fish. You have to believe the fish are there to catch, and that you are presenting the right bait, and ultimately that it is not a complete waste of time. People who fish must have some initiative, and also hope mixed with faith. And when they catch nothing, they must not be easily discouraged but keep on fishing believing eventually it will pay off.

To catch a fish you do not get the biggest lure you can find and throw it into the water hoping to knock the fish out and catch it that way. No, sometimes a movement of the bait is required, other times a subtle approach, barely moving the bait at all. And yes, there will be times the fish do not bite and you move on to another fishing spot or try again another day.

When the stars align with my health issues and I get to go fishing it is a huge blessing to me. Two fishing trips come to mind. First I must say I am not someone who wears his religion on his sleeve. I do not go around saying: Amen Brother and Amen Sister! all day long. Indeed, I do not mention my religion much at all unless I see an opportunity or sense the Holy Spirit leading me.

So the first of these two fishing trips the fish weren't biting, not even a nibble. But I was out in God’s glorious creation and saw a woodpecker, a hawk, a turtle, the birds were singing and the bullfrogs croaking and I heard a crash on my left side in the trees. Not an animal, but a nature photographer. We talked about several things, mostly about different kinds of birds and the beauty of nature. At one point I decided to see if I could get a nibble, after all, this guy was knee deep in the evidence of God all around him and through the eye of the camera lens. So I said something about God’s beautiful creation. No bite, no nibble. No comment from him. No bites at all that day.

On another fishing trip a guy, who looked quite haggard and worn out, started fishing beside me. He volunteered that he had some health issues, had been married a number of years, and I mentioned that by God’s grace my wife and I had been married about the same number of years. Once I mentioned God he said he had better watch his language around me. I told him not to worry. I had grown up around plenty of “cussers” and needed to repent of the bad habit myself on occasion. 

We continued to talk and though I decided that this guy might not be what you would call “God friendly” I wanted to share a concise version of my testimony about how I had survived horrible health issues over the years and that calling upon God to help him through his own serious health issues could really help him. He was not interested. But we kept talking about other things, and he mentioned that he had forgotten his main lure at home. I had one and gave it to him, and prayed the Lord would help him catch lots of fish on it and that he would remember me and the message I gave him about God that day.

Being guilted into witnessing about Jesus is a useless endeavor. You will make a bad job of it every time. Often what we do is plant “seeds” of testimony, kindness, friendliness, and while not wearing our faith on our sleeve we are open to bringing God into the conversation when the other person will receive it. We never debate or argue about God. That will not only kill any chance you have to witness it can make them more “God resistant”.

The “water we fish in” has been polluted by the terrible witness of those who say they are Christians and either are not, or are terrible representatives of Christ. Too often TV and Radio and Internet Preaching seems as much geared to turn people away as win them over to Salvation in the Name of Jesus. It may be that America is the hardest place in the world to win others to Christ because of what unbelievers have seen or witnessed from those who claim to be Christians.

Yet like the persistent fisherman/woman we cast our lures, hope for a bite, or at least a nibble. In truth we are not presenting ourselves, that would be useless. We have no power to save anyone. Yet we cast our line, presenting God in such a way as not to scare away the fish. What we are doing is planting seeds, seeing if the person has any interest in God, and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us as we share the truth about Jesus. No matter where you are, beside a lake, on an assembly line, at the grocery counter, on a bus or in a plane, anywhere and everywhere you go be sensitive to God’s leading and the chance to point others in His direction.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6.

Few people in America have gone their entire lives without hearing the gospel. And they may have heard it from someone more skilled than yourself. Yet, they have not heard Your Testimony before. They have not heard you share how God turned things around for you, or a family member, or a friend. They don’t know that you would never have survived your illness, your divorce, your loss of a loved one if not for the goodness of God. 

We fish in a public pond where the bite is often tough. There is a lot of fishing pressure. But by faith I hope you will keep on fishing, trying “new lures”, and various presentations. And just as a person fishing needs luck, even more so you will need the aid of the Holy Spirit. At times He may lead you to be quiet. Other times He may nudge you to present your testimony even when the “fishing” is not promising. You may be planting a seed that the person will one day recall in a moment of need. Or perhaps, another person will plant more seed as the ground improves, or will water that ground with God’s word and then faith will sprout. Our job as Christians is not to land the biggest fish in the lake, or to catch them all, but frequently to soften the resistance others have toward Christianity and Jesus by simply presenting our own testimony about how good God has been to us. Or how we survived the tragedies and hardships that befell us only because of God’s mercy.

I will end with the first thing those who are fishing are usually asked by people walking or stopping by: are you getting any bites?

Prayer: Dear Lord, Help us to be faithful witnesses about You and what You have done for us. Guide us by Your Spirit, and show us how to ‘fish for people’ with the Gospel. Amen.