As I was thinking through this verse it is amazing to me how interesting this verse can be with just a few words. First off, Jesus was calling his disciples. To do what? Make disciples. And Jesus used the analogy of "fishers of men" to call them to His mission.
The disciples were ultimately being taught how to make disciples and how to go about discipling others and Jesus compared that to being fishers of men. And when I sit back and apply the knowledge I have of fishing to discipleship it makes a lot of sense to me why he would do that.
Baby Fish. While I was standing on the bank of this particular lake, you can see this basically in any body of water with fish present, there were tons of baby fish close to the bank and they would not leave that area except for maybe a foot or so out. The baby fish in this area were very skittish and timid of venturing out into the deeper waters of the pond.
I think this is how "baby Christians" as we call them some times can be. As we begin discipling a new believer we can want to force a huge overwhelming lifestyle change onto them and that can make them very nervous about their Christian walk. Rather I think it is better to give them practical and manageable habits to develop and learn as they begin their new life in Christ. Those doing the discipling should help them understand what they believe, why they believe it, and what that means for them on a daily basis. It can be a scary thing for a new believer and I think it best when they have someone to keep them under their wing and close to their bank.
Watch the bobber. I was never one to pick up on the whole constant casting style of bass fishing that some are phenomenal at doing. Rather I was one that would attach the bobber to the end of my line, cast it out in the water, and wait. Sometimes I would have to be much more patient than other times where I would toss it in and immediately have a fish on the hook.
Discipling has the same idea. We want the new believer to immediately be like Christ in all aspects of their lives. But in reality, this rarely happens instantly. Discipling is a process of constant pouring into the life of someone and being patient as they grow and mature in their faith. This is a person by person basis on how quickly they grow in their faith. Likewise, the bobber will go under in certain lakes faster than it will in other we just have to be patient.
It Can Be Messy. One of the most frustrating things for me as a young fisherman was when my fishing line would "bird nest" in the reel. For those not as familiar with that term, it is when their is a problem with the reel and the way the line is fed into it (I think!) and it balls up into a huge mess of fishing line. It is nasty and requires tons of work to get through this issue.
Discipling will inevitably have issues and problems come up as you walk alongside the individual you are discipling. These issues will take patience as mentioned earlier but likewise will need extra time and attention given to them before you can move on with the discipling process. This could be a number of things of personal sin issues or even issues from their past when they were a nonbeliever that still has consequences or ramifications for present day. If the situation gets too difficult or messy I don't think it is incorrect to rule out "cutting the line" as a last resort. Maybe it is better for you to take a step back from the situation for a period of time or to recommend and connect the individual with someone with more experience or expertise in the area of their struggle.
We all swim our own path. My grandpa lived in Florida when I was younger. His house was maybe 100 feet from the water and so it was never a surprise to have a Manatee swim up into his cove and eat the lettuce we would throw out for them. I always hated seeing the scars on the back of those such gentle creatures that results of being hit by the propeller of boats. But none the less they were there and they were still living the life they had been given.
This is similar to our unique Christian walks. We all have a story we all have scars in our lives be it small and hard for some to see or something deep and very evident to others. As we are discipling it is important to explain to the individual we all have a unique story in our life that God has given us to share with others. We all want to have that incredible testimony of overcoming an addiction or a radical lifestyle change. But even if it is just a "normal" testimony as we tend to label them. It is important for us to share and live the story God has given us because God choosing to send His Son to die for us is a miracle in itself for us to share!
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