“Lleva la barca hacia aguas más profundas, y echen allí las redes para pescar.” (Lucas 5:4 NVI)

 

Este cuento “de pescar” en Lucas 5 es uno de mis favoritos, quizás porque yo pueda identificarme con los pescadores frustrados. Eran como yo. Yo tengo mis rutinas y mis formatos confortables para terminar las listas de las cosas que tengo que hacer. ¿No los tiene usted? Pero también tengo mi Señor y Salvador quien is muy experto en deshacerlos.

            Esos pescadores habían seguido la norma de pescar por la noche pero no habían recogido nada. Habían pescado en todos los mejores lugares—pero todavía nada. Entonces viene Jesús y les dice, “Lleva la barca hacia agues más profundas.” No solamente les mandaba a aventurarse fuera de su bienestar, pero les decía que lo hacían cuando nadie más echaba las redes. Sus instrucciones suponían que si lo obedecerían y pescarían según su mandato en vez de la sabiduría de esos tiempos, recogerían una cantidad de pescado.

            Todos hemos contestasdo de maneras semejantes de vez en cuando, ¿verdad? La verdad es que tenemos miedo. Llevando la barca hacia aguas más profundas cuando casi todos están quedándose con toda la seguridad en la orilla no es un escenario que nos gusta. El alternativo es que podemos quedarnos en la orilla con los que insisten en seguir su propia manera y no produciendo nada—o podemos ariesgarnos y obedecer las instrucciones del Señor de pescar.

            Todo se reduce a una cosa: ¿Estamos aquí para pescar o para pasar el tiempo en la orilla inventando maneras nuevas y mejores para pescar y discutiendo la mejor manera de cumplirlas? Si escogemos ésta, podemos ser los mejores equipados, pero no tenemos pescado para probarlo.

            Yo sí pienso llevar la barca hacia agues más profundas y salir bien pescando. ¿y usted?

 

            This particular “fishing story” in Luke 5 is one of my favorites, perhaps because I can so relate to the frustrated fishermen. How like me they were! I have my own self-imposed routines and comfortable formats to enable me to get through my daily to-do lists, don’t you? But I also have a Lord and Savior who is quite adept at “rocking my boat.”

            These fishermen had been following the norm of fishing at night but had caught nothing. They had fished in all the best spots—still nothing. Then here comes Jesus and tells them to “launch out into the deep.” Not only was He instructing them to venture beyond their comfort zone, but he was telling them to do so at a time when no one else was throwing out their nets. And yet, His instructions implied that if they would obey Him and fish according to His direction rather than the generally accepted wisdom of the day, they would land a sizeable catch.

            How many times have we found ourselves frustrated, just like those fishermen, because we’ve done all the “right” things and yet produced no results? Then along comes Jesus and says, “Try something different. Forget what the world tells you is the wise or prudent thing to do, and follow my instructions instead.”

            “But Lord, Your instructions don’t make sense!”

            We’ve all responded in similar ways at one time or another, haven’t we? But the bottom line is, we’re scared. Launching out into the deep when nearly everyone else is staying safely on shore is not an appealing scenario. But the alternative is that we can remain on shore with those who insist on following their own way and producing nothing—or we can take a chance and obey the instructions of the Master Fisherman.

            It all comes down to one thing: Are we hear to catch fish…or to spend time on the shoreline, inventing new and better ways to fish and discussing how best to implement them? If we choose the latter, we may be the best-equipped fishermen around, but we have no fish to show for it.

            I, for one, plan to launch out into the deep and do some serious fishing. How about you?

 

 

            I have a lot of favorite verses in the Bible, but I suppose if I had to choose only one, it would be Acts 13:30: “But God raised Him from the dead.” Wow. How powerful is that?

            Think about it. What can life throw at us that can’t be overcome by that statement of eternal truth?

            I just lost my job. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

            My loved one has cancer. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

            I can’t pay my rent. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

            My grandchild is on drugs. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

            My spouse wants a divorce. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

            My child is missing. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

            Again, think about it. If God raised Jesus from the dead (and we know He did!), then can ANYTHING be too hard for Him? Is there any situation past His ability to redeem it, any heartache past His healing, any need past His meeting?

            No. With God ALL things are possible, and we know that’s true because God has already raised Jesus from the dead. That is the pivotal event in history, and everything else revolves around it.

            Resurrection faith is what we must cling to, beloved, if we are to survive the tough times ahead. And believe me, they’re coming! No one makes it through life on this planet unscathed. But the One who raised our crucified Savior from the dead stands ready to do the same for us. If we are focused on that great truth, what else matters?

            As Romans 8:31 reminds us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

            We are “more than conquerors,” dear friends…for God has raised Him from the dead!

 

            As one who has long served in jail/prison ministry, I have often used this scripture to encourage others to become involved in that ministry as well. However, if we are going to be true to the intent of the verse, we need to recognize that the writer of Hebrews was most likely calling us to remember those who were suffering for their Christian faith.

            There were many in those days who endured such mistreatment, and we hear of them often. But do we realize how many more suffer for their devotion to Christ today? In fact, more Christians have died for their faith in the last hundred years than in all the combined nineteen centuries preceding that.

            Sunday, November 8, is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. If your local assembly isn’t doing something to recognize that day and honor/intercede for those around the world who are enduring untold hardships for their faith in Jesus, would you consider doing something individually? Setting aside a time that day to “remember the prisoners as if chained with them, and those who are mistreated” would be a small but blessed act of obedience to this scriptural command. Remembering the prisoners means more than thinking of and feeling sorry for them. It means to intercede on their behalf as if we ourselves were languishing in some prison, chained up and suffering for our decision to follow Christ.

The scripture makes it clear that we are to “remember” these beloved brothers and sisters because we too “are in the body” with them. All believers everywhere are united by the blood that flowed from our precious Savior. We are part of His Body. We are family.

            If our own flesh and blood children, spouses, siblings, parents were chained up and suffering for their faith, we would be bombarding the gates of heaven for their safety and protection. Will we adhere to the call of scripture to do the same for those who are part of our eternal family, related because we share the same Savior, the same Father?

            May we never forget them! May we stand with them in prayer, not only on November 8 but always. For one day we will worship together with them around the throne of God.