Am I Trying for Even One?
It isn’t yet official, but it looks as if a fairly amazing Guinness World Record was broken last week. A professional fisherman broke his own record by catching an astonishing 2645 fish…in just twenty-four hours! (His old record was 2172 fish, so he didn’t just break the record, he shattered it.) [Source]
I have to admit, I am not a fisherman. I have gone a handful of times, but I just do not enjoy it. And that is despite the fact that I have caught a few fish. Fishing is one of those activities that I can see why people enjoy it; it just does not appeal to me.
But there is another type of fishing that will simply not yield 2645 “catches” in one day, but is thrilling. That is fishing…for people.
Personally, if I am being honest, I have to say that I have not reached very many, but, to my shame, a lot of the time it is because I have not stuck with it. In the last few weeks and months, however, I have really been trying to make a much more concerted effort to reach people. So far, no “catch.” But it is God who gives the increase, so I am going to keep fishing.
As I simply “think out loud” today, let me share with you some things I am trying to remind myself as I go fishing:
- Cast a Wide Net. Of course, we are going to focus on certain people (family members, dear friends, coworkers) whom we love and want to reach, but if we only concentrate on this “one,” we may miss an opportunity with someone else. Doors are open if we will look for them!
- Equip Others. Even if I do not “catch” a fish anytime soon, I worship with dozens and dozens of other fishers, as well. Could I not pray for them and help give them encouragement and some tools to help? (At Central, we have an Evangelism Center that is for this purpose, and, praise God, it is being used!)
- Don’t Lose Heart. Likely, you won’t catch 2600+ fish in one day, but sometimes, we can fail to catch even one for a long time, despite praying and a lot of work. I know I have studied with some people and thought we were on a great track, only to see them walk away. Others just never come around to a study. It’s disheartening, to say the least. But Satan wants to use that discouragement to stop us from ever trying. We must keep going!
As I said, I am not a fisherman, so I do not know the value of over 2600 fish, but, almost no matter the type of fish, there has to be a somewhat significant value to that many, right?
How much more valuable is just one soul? It is worth more than the whole world. Will we put forward the effort to strive to reach even one?
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
