Fishing Tales
/For most people in our time, taking a fishing trip has little to do with feeding ourselves or the survival of our family; it's a matter of sport. And for those who are truly "hooked", there's more to fishing than simply choosing the right bait or learning to properly play a fish. One of the most important attributes of a true angler is the ability to stretch the truth—to tell stories about the great big fish we caught, or the one that got away. When we tell a tall fishing tale, we're following a time-honored tradition of the modern sports fisherman.
With such a background to the subject of fishing, its important to remember that the fishermen Jesus called to be disciples were fishing for their lives, and for their well being. When Jesus asked them to put down their nets, when he offered to show them "how to fish for people", he was asking them to walk away from everything they'd ever learned about how to support themselves. He asked them to give up their livelihood; he asked them for nothing less than a bold act of complete and total trust in him.
In time, the tales these disciples told would come to be called "the good news". The good news for us is that we serve a God who calls us forth...Jesus still calls us today. If we are bold enough, even now we can turn from what we've always known and follow him in faith.