Now learn this lesson from... (Matthew 24:32
)
–N.I.V
Emmanuel Fékou (www.fekou.net) – Internet Evangelist / Online missionnary. This article is a part of the series entitled: Lessons from... This series of messages was inspired from the Lord's prescriptions contained in Matthew 24:32, who, in His teachings, use many illustrations and comparisons of the things of everyday life to express spiritual truths. Paul could as such say to the Corinthians: "Does not the very nature of things teach you that..." (1Co 11:14). After being taught by a lesson taken from... football, let us be teach today by a lesson taken from... fishing.
Fishing is to catch or attempt to catch fish. That is taking the fish out of the water. A fisherman or fisherwoman is a person who fishes (catches fish) either as a job or as a hobby. Throughout this article, the following terms will have these meanings: Fish: Men Water: The world Fishing: Action of winning men to Christ taking; them out of the world (To evangelise) There are several types of fishing: Fishing line fishing, Hand fishing, Bow fishing, Kite fishing ... I surely forget some. The type which interests us here is the Fishing line fishing. The Lord said to Simon, called Peter and Andrew his brother, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:18-19. These people could surely well understand the words of the Lord because they were professional fisherman. But Jesus called them to fishing, the fishing of men. Men here are similar to the fish that they used to catch. The Lord compares the fact of winning souls to fishing and addressing to fishermen by profession, they could very well understand what it was all about. The images in the Bible are very significant and we know that in Biblical imagery, "many waters" stand for the world (peoples, multitudes, nations). (Rev. 17:1) To fish (men) would then mean take them out of the water (the world). This brings us to another image of the Bible. Men being caught constituted the Church from the Greek ekklesia which mean called out ... (Out of the world? Outside nations?) The call addressed to Peter and Andrew is also the portion of all who believed in the Lord, you and I being part of them. If it is true that some Christian organizations practices industrial fishing (trying to catch many fish at once) through extensive fishing campaigns, most of us, Christians, often practise Fishing line fishing for we try to catch one fish at a time. To do fishing line fishing (in the real life fishing), the material consists of a fishing rod, which holds a fishing line with a hook on the end and most important, without which no fish will be taken is ... the bait. The fisherman attempts to get the fish to bite the hook by placing lures near the hook or by placing live bait on the hook. Since the bait is what the fisherman puts at the end of the fishhook to catch his fish. The choice of the bait is based on type of fish you want to catch. So, the bait can be: a bee wasp, a spider, a worm, a cockroach, a caterpillar, a frog, a larva, a slug, a leech, a worm, an earthworm, And so on and so forth I would like to ask you some questions: 1. Is the bait for the fisherman or for the fish? 2. Does the fisherman eat the bait? 3. How does the fisherman, since he does not eat the bait can use it? I know you are very smart and I know you gave the right answers to these questions. But in order to allow you to follow my thoughts, I'll give you the answers.
1.
Is the bait for the fisherman or for the fish?
The bait is both for the fisherman and for the fish. The first needs it to catch his fish, the fish like the bait and it is what draws him and prevents him from seeing the hook that will catch him. 2. Does the fisherman eat the bait? No, the fisherman does not eat the bait; he uses it just to try catching his fish, for it is only good for fish. 3.
How can the fisherman use the bait if he does not eat it?
Because without it, Fishing line fishing will have no sense. Many debates occur among Christians today. Those who celebrate Christmas, birthdays, give wedding receptions etc., are called "carnal" by the others claiming to be " super spiritual " even though the first take advantage of these occasions to invite their friends, families, colleagues and others to expose them to the message of the gospel and to try so to win them to Christ. If the fishing rod is the Bible, the fishhook the gospel which catches the fish, these things could be the bait that attracts fish. The Christian (fisher of men) does not celebrate Christmas (does not eat the bait), but everybody around him (fishes) celebrate Christmas (they love the bait). I'm not saying that a Christian should or should not celebrate Christmas (even if it is proven that it is a pagan celebration), though all of us who do not celebrate Christmas "celebrates" demons. Do you know the significance of the days of the week we say and write since our first day of school? Origin of the names of the days Saturday: This day was called dies Saturni, "Saturn's Day", by the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn. Sunday: The name comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday. Monday: The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, "the moon's day". This second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon. Tuesday: This day was named after the Norse god Tyr. The Romans named this day after their war-god Mars: dies Martis. Wednesday: The day named to honor Woman (Odin). The Romans called it dies Mercurii, after their god Mercury. Thursday: The day named after the Norse god Thor. The Romans named this day dies Jovis ("Jove's Day"), after Jove or Jupiter, their most important god. Friday: The day in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg. In Old High German this day was called frigedag. To the Romans this day was sacred to the goddess Venus, and was known as dies veneris.
Source : http://www.pantheon.org/miscellaneous/origin_days.html You who throws a stone on the one who takes advantage of Christmas (what his fish loves) to catch it, what do you every time you celebrated the planets, stars and other pagan deities by saying and writing the day of the week? To all those who, as me like to fish, I wish you a good one. Make sure you choose the right bait for your fish. Note: This is not a licence to go for all kind of things which does not honour God and trying to say you are catching.
