In my bible this passage is titled; The First Disciples. I love it that these first recruits were fishermen. It gives me hope because I like to fish too. No, actually I love to fish. Important note; I do love to fish, not quite so much though that it is an idolatrous obsession. I keep my passion in check just beneath that threshold of idolatry to avoid falling into sin. (tongue firmly in cheek) The truth is, when I am out there making my casts, I feel just like Eric Liddell (from Chariots of Fire). When I fish, I feel His pleasure. That is what I have been telling my wife anyway.

On the land Jesus was speaking to the multitudes and they were pressing in on Him to the point that He had to get into a boat to avoid the crush and continue teaching the word of God. The boat he adopted as His platform was Peter’s, a smelly, leather-skinned Jew who knew about boats, nets and fish. Little did Peter know that while He was instructing his audience who remained on the shore, Jesus was about to provide an unforgettable object lesson for him and the first disciples.

When Jesus concludes His address, He then begins to set up Peter and his crew. They were bone tired and could have made a great case for disregarding a carpenter’s council on fishing but.. at Jesus’ bidding they put out into deep water and let down their nets. We know the results; overloaded nets and boats.

This outcome was every fisherman’s dream; to catch so many fish that you and your companions are seized with amazement. Peter was so stunned He asked Jesus to depart because (it had dawned on him for some reason that) he was a sinful man. Was Peter’s conscience struck because he had broken the fishing regulations by exceeding his allowed catch? No, Peter was shaken by the fact he had just been a part of a miracle; one that happened by obeying the word of this Woodworker. It was also dawning on Peter that this Jesus character was something far more than a carpenter. This event conveyed to him that Jesus was a man of God and that (in his opinion) he certainly was not.

Jesus disregarded Peter’s stricken conscience and his request for Him to go away. Instead he simply takes the opportunity to let these first disciples know they will not be changing occupations – only the direction of their casts. He says,

                        “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”

Broadly speaking, men catch fish in a couple of different ways. One method is the commercial / professional approach where nets are used to go after large numbers of fish. The other way is to get something on a hook that will attract the fish. In a sense, God uses the same methods. Historically, there has been occasions where He has cast His net by way of revival into the multitudes and filled up the boats. In these seasons of awakening the Spirit reveals so much of Christ to the heart that the fish practically jump into the boat of their own accord.

We are given some information about His desired catch in God’s Word. We are told that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. If this is so, then why doesn’t God just cast His big net and haul-in all who are perishing? All who are elect? Of course I cannot address this mystery with certainty, but it occurs to me that perhaps God is not just interested in catching fish. Perhaps He is interested in making fisherman.

I awoke this morning at an unusually early hour thinking about fishing (in a sense). Maybe its because I have been fishing recently. (With a guide who was instructing me in fly fishing, I actually made so many casts the other day I could hardly lift my right arm without assistance from my left one.) I say in a sense because, I was thinking about how we go about fishing in the western church; the nets we use and the size of our catch. As I was surfacing from my half-sleep, this was the thought I salvaged from my dreams; “I think I know how we can catch more fish.” Here is the residue of my dream….

What if churches didn’t hire a chief fisherman who just cast his net once or twice a week to the same school of fish? What if instead they chose more of a fishing guide who cast a vision of everyone becoming a fisherman? I ask these questions because I believe many of those who Jesus desired should not perish are slipping through the net of our western church model. We need a net with a finer mesh. We need more fishermen so that more casts can be made into different pools. My observations have led me to believe that the job of fishing was never intended as the sole responsibility of professional fisherman.

What if we actually caught the Master’s vision of us as fishers of men and makers of disciples who saw our relational networks and neighborhoods as the places we have been called to make our casts? What if all those people who have been burned-by or have burnt-out in religion, or who have never heard, who would not feel safe in a traditional church, found safety in our company and in our homes? Or; here is a wild thought: in theirs? What if our friendship and love for Christ were so evident that it would bring healing and restoration to the geographic and relational kingdom-spaces God has entrusted to us and wants us to personally take ownership of? Further early morning musings…

What if we also backed off on a gospel that is encumbered by a negative spirit that conveys primarily that if it is rejected, will send a person to Hell? While Hell and fear are truths of the gospel, How do they compare with Eternal Life and Love? In my observations something has turned many off to the best news that will ever reach their ears. This makes no sense. Is that because these disinterested ones are the Esau’s which God is on record as hating? Are they the hearts He has hardened – the unfortunate and doomed non-elect? Have the yet-to-be-saved really heard and seen the true gospel of Jesus Christ; that gospel that liberates men from fear of death and eternally weds their hearts to Christ and His kingdom and so much more? I often wonder how hearts have faired in loving God with all their hearts when the reason they asked Jesus into that space to begin with was their fear of Hell? (and perhaps Him?)

I know in the west many have heard the gospel words and phrases, but I wonder if many are not troubled by the attitudes of indifference and passivity of us elect and predestined ones. Does this world see us as anything more than a tax exempt group with a political mandate for morality who is waiting to be airlifted out of this hopelessly defiled planet? God certainly does.

I do not mean to cast a universal blanket of condemnation over Christianity in the west but I do see vast schools of fish avoiding the nets. (In some cases I see significant numbers of fish leaving the schools.) Is this by sovereign design by the One who desires that none should perish? I know there are pockets of life where Jesus is breaking out and into our culture but I bump into something that troubles me. (I have actually bumped into it inside my own belief system.) It is a very heavily tainted view of God’s sovereignty that exempts us from concern for the lost around us. By default, it seems to paint a picture of God as one who only makes selective casts to elected fish, leaving the rest to perish. The reasoning (or rationalization) that follows (loosely) is that since God is doing the casting, who am I to argue with His aim? And anyway, I attend and support a church where the chief fisherman casts a big net.

What if the gospel we lived and preached was so hopeful and so inclusive that we could lean in expectantly toward all those in our family and networks with the awareness that they are beloved and treasured ones created in His image; ones whom God is endeavoring to draw to Himself by way of us? What if, by way of our transformation, our winsomeness and joy we portray that our Shepherd is indeed very good? What if (in light of God’s great heart) we adopted the childlike idea that (as far as it concerns us) people were not lost; they are just not yet saved? We could presume the best about God’s heart and intentions and just leave it to Him do the sifting at the conclusion of time. Until then we can just tend to the connecting and the loving.

What if our new (or reformed) local fishing guides were to adopt the bold vision that we were to abandon altogether the idea of church as a place or something that we can attend and worked systematically to dismantle that active notion in our existing cultures? What if our local gatherings became the place where fishing reports were given and celebrations were had.

What if our local chief fishing guide cast and nurtured a kingdom-sized vision of the Church that equipped all men to become fisherman-disciples casting God’s love in word, power and deed out into our existing networks? Coming into my view is a net of this type, this dimension and mesh actually sweeping through society and filling our boats (or homes) with so many fish that we too will be amazed.

God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full,          it is hauled onto the beach.

I am just telling my story here and I have to admit, this has become somewhat of a waking-dream of mine. If I am correct, my dream is shaping itself into a vision; one that I feel I have been (in a sense) perishing without for years. I confess I have a dream of overloaded nets and boats. Having a feel for the magnitude of God’s love, I am incapable of not imagining a day such as this when His word has returned to Him having accomplished all that His great heart has desired.

Accordingly, I see Him, who will do exceeding abundantly beyond what we have asked or thought, doing even greater works through His Bride (at least in volume) than He did. In my dream I see a large catch that breaks the nets and overflows the walls of our buildings and programs. I see them spilling over and being cared for in the relationally safe spaces intentionally created by a healthy church so vibrant that, in observing them, men will be seized with amazement.

I see people so stunned by what they are seeing that they (like Peter) are struck by their impoverished condition in light of the contrasting light before them. I see a day when Jesus will be recognized as far more than a carpenter or the leader of a moral majority. I have a vision of you and I filling in the voids and course openings of the existing net. I see His nature (His Kingdom) being discovered afresh within us revealing so much of Christ that He ultimately receives the attention and response due His name.

You might be objecting (as I find myself frequently doing); “This pipe dream would require messy, lengthy meetings to overhaul our (and we hope God’s) plans. We just worked through hours of contentious meetings discovering God’s plans for our church. What you are proposing would be massively complex at best and more probably impossible.” I cannot argue with that. But, it will also be massively simple as just loving our neighbors (those person next to us relationally of whom God is extremely fond) as ourselves.

All that is really necessary is to acknowledge God’s sovereignty. It is Him with whom we have to do who has foreordained us to live in proximity to specific ones that He loves – the objects of His affection (we must presume) who are destined for mercy not wrath. All we have to do is realize that we are that something on a hook that has been designed to attract the targeted fish. I think this may be the broad context of these good works we are told which He has prepared beforehand that we shall walk in.

We are that newly connected piece of the net whose mesh is becoming finer and finer so that not a one that He has been given shall get away. (Not even the wounded or wild ones who are swimming far apart from the facilities and programs of traditional organized church culture.) This is the waking dream that haunts me.

Thank you for indulging the dreams of an old man.

Father, for Your name’s sake and for the benefit of those whom You love who do not yet know You, would you reshape Your kingdom net and cause it to be recast such that it is near to breaking. Prepare our hearts and homes for this catch. Equip us to become the connective tissues in Your body so that Your net will be complete. May the expanding territory of Your Son’s dominion in our hearts become an attractant so that as You draw this net (and all men) to Yourself, You will find those You have been fishing for. We cannot be Your first disciples but may we be among the new disciples who get to go fishing with You. Thank You. Amen.

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