In His Name Devotionals
THE FISHERMAN WHO NEVER FISHED
In His Name Devotionals
THE FISHERMAN WHO NEVER FISHED
“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’” (Mark 1:16-17).
Behold, a fisherman went forth to fish. “But before you wet your hook,” someone counseled, “you must be sure you have mastered the fisherman’s fundamentals.” So the passionate would-be fisherman set his heart to study the joyous art of fishing.
He bought books about fishing and read pamphlets about the glories of fishing.
He joined a local club and traveled to seminars and training sessions—all devoted to fishing. Some of them were held in fancy training centers that cost a lot of money to build. He even donated money to help pay for some of them. But he had not yet gone fishing himself.
As he entered more deeply into the language and lore of this noble movement, he began to study the history and philosophy of fishing. He thrilled at the reports of great catches of fish by net-casters and cane-and-corkers. He affirmed the critique of those who said, “It is fishermen who have turned the world on its ear!”
He heard of streams in foreign places where fish were being caught, so he sent money and as he carefully read the glowing reports he thought, “How wonderful this thing called ‘fishing’ is!”
At one of the meetings where a fellow fisherman aroused the crowd with a stirring lecture on “The Reason Why We Must All Go Fishing,” one young man went forth, caught four fish, and reported back to the group. So thrilled were those who heard his report that they sent the young man to lecture across the country on how he had done it.
With the passing of time, the would-be fisherman became so ardent about his fishing club that he became increasingly impatient with anyone who dared miss any of the meetings that meant so much to him. Oh, what passion! What love for fishing! What affirmation of fishers!
One day he died—never having wet a hook.
