Teach Us to Fish
When I was three my grandpa started teaching me to fish. He had a little wooden dock on the pond behind his house. We used bits of bread to catch fish no bigger than your hand. The bobber floated calmly along the top of the water until a fish pulled it under. Have you ever seen the excitement on the face of a child reeling in a fighting fish? My grandpa knew if I caught a fish I would be hooked. He was right.
My time on the water learning to fish was my first encounter with discipleship. In the Bible we see some of Jesus’ first followers having a similar experience when in the fifth chapter of Luke’s Gospel Jesus teaches a few men to fish.
Jesus was teaching a crowd at the water’s edge when He noticed a couple of fishermen cleaning their nets after an unfruitful night of fishing. Jesus got into one of their boats and asked to be taken a stone’s throw from shore to continue teaching the people. Jesus finished His lesson and asked Simon Peter to take the boat out to deeper water to fish. Peter had fished all night with no luck, but because it was Jesus, Peter agreed to give it a shot.
When the fishermen let down the nets, they swarmed so full of fish that they began to break, and the boats became so heavy they started to sink. Simon Peter was hooked. Jesus was going to make him a fisher of men. Scripture says Peter, James, and John immediately left their nets to follow Jesus.
Jesus’ model of discipleship was experiential. He did plenty of teaching, but people followed Him when they had a personal encounter. Jesus entered people’s lives and left them changed. He invited them to “come and see,” and when they did, they could not believe what they experienced. The disciples accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, and they were discipled as they watched His ministry. They heard His teaching, watched His miracles, and witnessed His compassion for people.
This is the way my grandfather taught me to fish. We never spent much time talking about technique or equipment. Instead, he took me fishing, and I watched him. He tied the knots just so. Baited the hooks. His cast revealed his years of crafting his skill. But most importantly, I saw him catch fish. So many fish. All kinds of fish. And he loved it. His love for fishing was contagious. He not only taught me to fish, but to love fishing. He discipled me.
My grandpa taught me to love following Jesus the same way he taught me to fish. I watched him. I followed his example as he lived out his faith. His authentic love of Christ burst forth through conversation and his care for others. He showed me how to be a good father and husband. He prayed for me and prayed with me. He preached with his words and with his actions. His ministry at home matched his ministry from the pulpit. He discipled me.
When my son was three, my grandpa started teaching him to fish.