With all the rain we’ve had in the last two days, there are “miniature lakes” in the swales along the interstate. While driving this morning, I saw a guy (a true South Floridian!) with his fishing line dropped in one of these temporary ponds. My first thought was, “What a dummy! What does he possibly think he’s going to catch in there?” Then came this second thought, “What a dedicated guy! He’s not going to catch anything in there, but that’s not stopping him from doing what he loves.” “Fishing” and “catching” are two different things.
God has called us to be fishers of men! Sometimes, it seems that we take that to mean we only go fishing in waters where we know we will catch the largest, most impressive fish of all. Such a mindset causes many of us to leave our poles at home and not even try to “fish” unless we’re guaranteed a “catch.” Maybe we should take a fishing lesson from this fisherman in the swale—to love fishing is to go fishing wherever there is water. To love fishing for men’s souls with the gospel is to go fishing for souls in waters everywhere, even in the most unlikely spots.