Jo Do It
Dan Kunz
Back in “the day”, I was a member of a bass fishing club and fished bass tournaments. Because of that, when I heard a recruiter for Martin Luther College use this analogy several years ago, as Mark Twain once wrote, “It hit me where I lived.” The recruiter said this:
“Imagine you’re really into bass fishing. You buy a $40,000 bass boat. You buy a dozen of the best rods and reels and tackle boxes full of the latest lures. You read books and magazines about the best fishing spots. You watch podcasts and attend seminars which discuss the latest techniques and methods. You wear the newest styles in sunglasses, clothes, and headgear for fishermen. The problem is, you’re so busy doing all of these things, you never go fishing! Kind of silly, isn’t it?”
Here’s a true story with the same spin. Mark Hayes, the director of The Lutheran Home Association, once worked at a tool manufacturer in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The employees were given the opportunity to buy all manner of tools at a reduced price. When Mark visited the garage of one of his co-workers, he saw an amazing assortment of tools hung on pegboard, all in their places, spotless and shiny. He quickly realized this was a tool “collection”, not tools that were used regularly (or maybe ever). Whether you’re a bass fisherman or a mechanic, having all the equipment, but never using it, doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Are you a “collector” and not a “user” of the tools, equipment, and techniques which God gives you for ministry? That would be a shame, both for you and for the people you could be helping. As Christians living in today’s world, we have access to almost unlimited resources for hearing God’s Word, learning God’s Word, and spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We have, literally, dozens of translations of the Bible. Devotional books, Bible studies, and podcasts/blogs are at our fingertips. If someone is interested, conventions, conferences, seminars, and workshops are within most people’s driving distance. Most of those are also accessible on the Internet. Techniques and opportunities for witnessing are abundant without too much searching. Maybe your congregation or a nearby congregation offers members and others the chance to canvass and witness. If you’d rather, opportunities for witnessing or prayer are available through a number of ministries. At the very least, we all have chances to share Jesus with those we encounter in our day-to-day lives, maybe even within our own family.
The bottom line is that Christians today can be as well-informed and as knowledgeable as they’d like. All of that, however, does no good, if those Christians don’t actually “go fishing”. Matthew 4:19 He said to them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. The bonus which we have besides all the “tools, equipment, and techniques” we need, is that Jesus himself will be with us. Jesus, the fisher of men, showed the disciples how to fish and fished with them. Jesus, the mechanic, told the disciples how to fix the brokenhearted and then gave them demonstration after demonstration. Although not in physical form, Jesus promises he'll be with us as well. So, when Jesus returns and asks how I did on the one job he gave me when he left – Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” – I want to show him some well-used fishing equipment and some worn out tools, not bright, shiny new ones!