Christian Living

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DON’T THROW ME BACK



When I think about fishing, I think about a time of solitude and relaxation, a time for reflection, rejuvenation and uplifting of body and spirit. Others may think of it as a time of finding a nourishing meal, of winning a prize for the biggest catch, or gathering a multitude of fishes to be sold, as a means of supporting themselves or their families.

I think about the times as a little girl when I went fishing with my father in his little boat. My father was an avid fisherman who supported his then family of five through fishing and painting of homes. I loved going out with him in his boat. Mom never approved because she was afraid that I would fall overboard. Many times she was not even aware that I was out with daddy. During the summer months when school was closed, I would listen for when my father would get up at five am; I would then along with my sister follow him to the dock where his boat was tied. He never knew he was being followed until he arrived at the dock. He would then allow us to stay, because it was too far to take us back home, in addition it would mean he would get a late start fishing. This could make a big difference in the amount of fish he would have caught.

It was a great time, my sister and I; we would look through a big magnifying glass, where we would see almost straight to the bottom of the sea. It reminded me of Alice In wonderland looking through the magic mirror. We saw fishes of every kind, crabs, lobsters and also plant life. It was such a beautiful sight.

Would really intrigues me about fishing, is that you can never be sure what you are going to catch. Sure you throw out your line or net and haul in hundreds of fishes. At a certain time of year, or depending on the area in which you are fishing you would hope to catch a certain type of fish. But I can guarantee that at least 85% of the time you haul in your line or net it is a surprise. You have either caught a lot, too little, a mixture of all types of fishes, a big or little fish, a fish you did not like, or even some one shoe, a piece of clothing or some other type of item. What do we do in these instances when we catch something other than what we expected or like. We throw it back, express great disappointment or approval, or give it away.

The same way most of us act when we come in contact with persons who are so different form us, who act differently, who talk differently, who dress differently, who are from a different social class, or who do not live up to our expectations of what is right or wrong . What do we do, we cast them aside, or ‘throw them back into the ocean”. Remember Jesus said we must be fishes of men. Not fishes of who is in our same social class, or who smells just right or drives the same type of car we drive. But who is dirty, smelly, has a different skin color, different nationally, who is hungry and needy. Suppose Jesus went out fishing among men and decided that he would reject and accept. How many of us would be among the rejected and cast back into the sea.

I and many others would be cast back into the sea; because of our prejudices, discrimination, not wanting to associate with persons because we think we are better than them and so many other imperfections.

We must be good fishes of men and accept people for who they are, tell them about Jesus, and his goodness and mercies. Keep them in “the net”, hold them “on the line” and haul them into the arms of Jesus.

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