A Fisher of Men...

A Fisher of Men ... Mark 1:17   Patricia Ann, Originally posted Wednesday, April 04, 2012 3:39 PM

Mark 1:17 ESV 
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me,
and I will make you become fishers of men.”
 
Imagine you are fishing, standing on the shore of the ocean. 
You look out and see many people in the water. 
Some are swimming away from shore.
Some are flailing, arms in the air, calling for help. 
Some are swimming toward shore slowly but surely making some headway.
But others look as if they are surely going to drown being pulled under the water and coming up gasping for a breath of air, a breath of life. 
Still others are floating lifelessly, having succumbed to the pressures of the ebb and flow of the tide.
They weren't strong enough to survive.  They didn't know which direction to swim and the shore seemed so far away.
They passed on from life into obscurity with possibly nobody knowing of or caring about their demise.
 
You are standing on the shore with an ocean fishing rod in hand -desiring greatly to help those you see in the ocean.  
The sounds of the ocean waves make it hard for anyone to hear you calling for them.
You can barely hear their cries, but you can feel their pain, their fear.
You can sense the urgency of saving each one of them. 
 
You grab your binoculars to get a better look and your heart jumps as you see family members, friends and acquaintances struggling in the vast ocean before you. 
 
You grab a life preserver and tie it onto the line on your pole. 
You quickly throw it out to those who are closet to shore, yelling for them to grab a hold of the life preserver, so you can reel them to the safety of the sandy beach. 
You begin to pull people to safety one by one, but lifeless bodies are washing up on the shore. 
You cannot help them and as you look up you see others still swimming away from the shore.
 
Where are they going? 
Do they  know that there is nothing for them, no way to survive the cruelness of the ocean waters as their bodies tire and they succumb to nature's forces. 
What are they thinking? 
There is no rescue ship, no other help. 
You are the only one for miles around and so many people are dying. 
 
You continue to help those you can and cry out into the ocean air hoping that the others will hear your cry. 
But they cannot hear you. 
The waves are getting bigger and they are being pulled further and further away.
It is becoming increasingly hard to pull in those close to shore.
The tide is fighting against you with all of its force. 
  
You cry out to God, your Father in Heaven. 
"Help me Lord, what can be done to help these people?"
 
And immediately you get a reply from God. 
The wind changes direction.
Those who are swimming away are gently being pushed toward the shore with the wind behind them. 
You see hope for their safety. 
And as you look around you see those the people closet to shore stepping out of the water on their own. 
And behind you on shore, help has arrived and the lifeless bodies drowned by the cruel ocean waters are receiving help, many of them being revived -receiving a breath of life from their Father in heaven and a second chance at life on this earth.
 
You feel the awesomeness of Our father in a Heaven as you fall to your knees in  reverence to Him and

His love for His children. 
You feel so Blessed to have been on the beach, to have had the opportunity to help those in need and you truly begin to understand what it means when Jesus told His disciples to become Fisher's of men. 
 
You feel awesome inside. Your body is tired from the strain of pulling people to shore and you rest in the knowledge that you have received.
 
As you were trying to pull in the people using only your own power, many were drowning. 
Many were already dead.
Many were still swimming in the wrong direction,
lost and destined for demise.
 
When you called on your Father in Heaven,
the entire situation changed.
 
God took over with His saving grace and sent the wind and His people to save an ocean full of lost and dying souls. 
 
You see Him in a new light - as you run from person to person, praising God and glorifying Him. 
You share His word and His works. 
You find your family members and friends, telling them of Our Lord's great and wondrous love.
 
Your life is changed forever more. 
You have seen and felt the awesome presence of God!
You have experienced His amazing power and seen life come back into lifeless bodies!
You have seen the will of God in action!
And He has used you in His great plan to bring others into his presence - into a relationship with Him!
 
Still, some that were physically saved, refused to believe that God had anything to do with their safety. 
They cannot explain it, but are not ready to accept that God would love them enough to save them.
After all, they had done too many things wrong, lived life in a corrupt and sinful way and because of their own self-condemnation, they refused to allow God onto their heart.
 
As this saddens your heart, and saddens the heart of God, you see
the choice He gives each of us. 
He loves us so much that He gives us the choice to know Him and the choice to choose to live and walk daily in

His love and glory. 
 
Many people in the world today are living their lives lost and out of control. 
Just like the  people in the ocean, many are trying to make it into God's presence .
Many are moving in the total opposite direction.
They are determined that there must be something more out there somewhere - their own light, fortune, success. 
 
Still others are dying without ever knowing that Jesus Christ died for their Sins.
They do not know that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
They do not know that His death on the Cross and His resurrection three days later signified the love of Jesus for His people.
 
Because of Jesus birth, life, death and resurrection, we can life life on this earth abundant in His love and gifts.
We live with His power within us. 
Jesus has given us life everlasting.
He calls us to be Fisher's of Men as we live life on this earth.
 
We are to glorify His Holy Name and share His love and glory with all people. 
 
My prayer is that we would all become the Fisher's of Men that Jesus called us to be.
In His Glorious Name, Amen.
 
Galatians 2:20 ESV 
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
 
Romans 10:15 ESV 
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
 
John 15:16 ESV 
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
 
Matthew 4:18-22 ESV
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
 
Mark 1:17 ESV 
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”