by Lynn Heatley. Have you ever had those times of revelation where you felt like a “lightbulb” went on in the interior of your soul? Sometimes, the Lord leads me on treasure hunts, except usually, I do not understand that I am on one until all the clues suddenly appear together and then they say something dramatic. So my story begins.
I was in a recent meeting where a group of leaders were all discussing how a city gets transformed by God. It was a great time of dialogue in a round-table setting that brought the wealth of corporate wisdom to all of us present. We had good times of discussion as well as worship and prayer. Quite honestly, it would be hard to have a discussion on city transformation without the prayer component for one discovers quickly that all of us combined are clueless on how transformation happens without the wisdom of God. Thus we frequently asked for His wisdom, as the book of James encourages us to do. It was in this context that I got my first clue.
Out of a time of discussion and prayer, it was revealed that the Lord is changing a paradigm on us (which essentially means He is changing the way we think about doing ministry). The paradigm represents that of fishing. The old way is represented by fishing with a pole. We have tried lots of ways to catch fish with our poles. We have gotten the latest colorful lures with fun little feathers, the freshest bait, new shiny reels, new advanced line and the like. We have even learned how to tie newer knots so the fish don’t break the line as easy. We are proud of our new “rigs” and “jigs. The only problem with this, is the Lord is saying that He is blessing a new way to fish….and it’s called a net.
A net???? But I don’t know how to fish with a net, Lord! And besides that, I have spent all this time and money updating my pole! And not only do I not know how to “net”, I know that I can’t do a net alone. I will have to need other people to net….and I don’t want to need other people because it has taken me a long time to figure out how to fish independently of anyone else. After all, when I am my own boss, I don’t have to work with anyone else’s schedules or opinions. I am free to be me. The only problem with all of this is that I am not catching very many fish and I keep asking the Lord what I am doing wrong….and somehow He is now speaking but it is not the words that I expected to hear! Hmmmm! And in the midst of all of this, the Lord continues to show us the need for one another and our need for unity. I think sometimes we have thought we have had unity when we are all standing close together with our individual poles, but I think unity with a net is a whole different story, because one is interdependent on the others in order to haul in the catch.
Enter clue number two. I have been pondering this direction of being called to the net and recently stumbled upon the story in Luke, chapter 5 of Jesus calling Peter (named Simon initially) from a fisherman to a “fisher of men”. Most likely, we are all familiar with the story…but this time, I noticed something that never got my attention before. So, let’s review the story one more time (and I’ll see if you notice any hidden clues in the story):
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)
Did you get the new clues? Certainly many have read this story before. We know the basic story of Peter being frustrated by spending a whole night fishing and not getting even one fish. I can relate to that. When I fish for one hour and don’t get a bite, I get frustrated (which is very different then my husband who loves to fish…he can spend hours fishing with no bites and not be a bit flustered). I usually bring a book with me when I fish…my husband would consider that an abomination to do such a thing. Anyway, back to the story. So after the fisherman (who all had caught nothing) were all washing their nets and thinking about getting a little “shut eye”…in pops Jesus (literally) into Simon’s boat who then asks him to row out so he can share some thoughts with the gathered crowd. This part alone reveals that Jesus is divine to me, for to get tired fishermen to get out in a boat again,when they have already washed their nets, surely required an act of God, which He did. But none of this represents the clues that I am trying to get you to see, it just happens to remind me of my many fishing experiences, which I have had many! You see, I was the second girl in my family (with no boys) and my dad loved to fish, thus my sister and I became his fishing buddies at an early age. We never knew that girls were not suppose to like to fish, so we were good buddies for my dad. Okay, okay, back to the story.
So, there Jesus is telling His stories and Simon is yawning, but listening. Just at the end of the sermon, when Simon was thinking it was time to wrap things up, Jesus does the unthinkable and asks him to go out into deeper waters so that they could go fishing. I can hear the sigh in Simon’s breathing (we certainly hear him expressing his opinion)…and yet (“nevertheless”), something that Jesus said earlier must have convinced him that Jesus was worth taking a chance on. What else would explain why a tired fisherman who was ready to go home and go to bed would go out fishing again! And so Simon obeys. And so do his other friends who he fishes with. They all take their boats out to the deeper waters. Then Jesus tells Simon to stop and drop the net here. Okay, here…why here, who knows, but he simply and probably tiredly obeys. Somehow, I imagine Jesus whistling in the midst of all of this (but of course, that is my own slant on the story).
Then something extraordinary happens. The net begins to tug. And continues to tug, and Simon finds himself straining to pull the net without tearing it. It becomes apparent that he can’t bring in this catch because the net begins to tear and the boat begins to take on water. Now I know one thing and that is that a fisherman does not want his boat to sink. So, Simon calls out for help to his other partners and they row over to assist him….which now reminds me of another story…Just a little detour in the adventure, but worth hearing.
I once had to signal for help to a friend to help me haul in a big fish. You see, my family along with 3 other families go up to the High Sierras every summer to fish and enjoy God’s beauty. This is a Heatley tradition and to stray from it would be a sure cause for mutiny. Part of our tradition is our fishing on Gull Lake with two-men dingys (a dingy is a blow up raft/boat that holds two people). We go out at sunset because everyone knows that this is when the fish really bite. On this particular occasion, my son and I were in one dingy. All of our friends were in the same vicinity in their dingys (except my husband and daughter, who had sprung a leak and who were on their way back to shore). All of a sudden, I got a big bite….I set that hook and I got that fish….and it got me. It was literally pulling us in the lake on our dingy. All of my friends and the town of June Lake heard me howling. My poor husband was watching helplessly from the shoreline (which was only about 100 yards away). I had never had that big of a fish on my line before. But, I had a problem. I did not have a net with me and I knew that if I wanted to land that lunker in my dingy, I was going to need help. So, I signaled to my partner who happened to be another mom and she rowed on over and helped me net that fish in my dingy. I still have that fish, as a matter of fact. My husband insisted on getting it stuffed and it still reminds me of my moment of glory as a fisherwoman. Now, back to the original story (but wasn’t that a good detour)! J
Okay, for those who are wondering if I am ever going to finish, let’s look at the clues. Simon’s net is strained. He yells for help. His other friends/partners come over to help him. They all grab a section of the net and begin to haul it in. There is so much fish in the net that it not only fills Simon’s boat, but also the boat of his friends. Both boats are almost sinking, they are so full of fish. They row in and Simon gets the revelation that Jesus is Lord…and he humbly bows and surrenders all to Jesus and follows Him. Then Jesus gives him a new calling…from a fisherman to a fisher of men. His other partners decide to follow Jesus too. They were not going to let this One, called Jesus, get away!
Here is my new understanding on this time worn story. It has to do with the partners that came over to help Simon haul in his net (James and John). I am convinced that when the partners came over to assist Simon, that was their only thought….to assist Simon (I think they were probably really glad that someone had finally caught something)! After all, they were all fishing buddies and they all helped one another out. But did you catch the hidden clue? As they came over to help their friend prosper, they themselves prospered…..for both of their boats filled up with fish. Jesus rewarded Simon’s friends for helping Simon out. And they all surrendered all to follow Jesus.
In this call to a new way of fishing, I think the Lord is calling us to go back out into the waters (even though we’re all a bit tired)….only this time, He has a new strategy to unfold. The Lord is calling us to find partners in the harvest and in ministry. And sometimes, they are the ones signaling to us for help. And sometimes it is me signaling to them for help. Regardless, I think the Lord is encouraging us that as we leave behind our fishing poles and take our place at the net, it is a win-win for all. All the boats fill up. I think the Lord will cause us all to prosper when we seek to help one prosper.
Something to think about. Something to pray about. And perhaps some poles to surrender along the way.
Thanks for listening, may the Lord show you new strategies of fishing and call you to your place at the net where the other partners await your arrival.