We were out on this remote Canadian lake and the fish were hitting!
I had just caught and released a 30 inch pike and my dad had one on his line.
We were totally focused on the moment and the exhilaration of success.
My daughter, on the other hand, was staring out at the dark clouds rolling in and she eventually convinced us to pull over to shore.
It wasn't easy for her to do. We had traveled16 hours and hauled gear across two portages to get there.
You do not give up on a run of fish like that!
Another time my dad and I had hiked up to a remote bass lake and discovered a small wooden skiff on shore.
We rowed off shore for a ways, and with darkness closing in and mosquitos devouring us, we were reeling in bass after bass. I can't remember which one of us finally convinced the other to head back to shore and find our way down the trail in the dark. But man, they were hitting!
"Jesus said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.'
Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down our nets.'
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simons partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, 'Don't be afraid, from now on you will be fishers of men.' So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.'" Luke 5:5-11
They left everything to follow him. Not only were the fish hitting, it meant a boost to their livelihood right when they needed it.
You could say, 'big deal, it was just some poor fisherman, nobody would do that in today's world.'
My son has a friend who just graduated from a well-known university with a very marketable degree. At a time when her peers are starting to haul in their nets with the anticipated career catch, she is leaving it all behind to follow Jesus. As a missionary, she'll live on a modest stipend, half a world away from her family with no perks. Her job is to tell people - from a different culture, whom she doesn't know - that the Good News of Jesus will bring them eternal life.
She's left everything, right when they were hitting.
For somebody like me, who couldn't even be dragged away from sport fishing when a dangerous storm was about to roll through, I can't imagine what it means to leave your nets when the unknown is nothing but service to the unseen Son of God.
But I'm thankful that this young woman and her friends are willing to do so. And I'll be praying for her from the safety of shore.
What do you believe?
