When I was a boy, I remember getting home from church after Sunday morning services and dad would turn on the television while we were getting ready for lunch. Harold Ensley, a Church of Christ pastor and radio host for a Christian radio program, had a show called Gone Fishin’, the title of the theme song. As a kid who had the attention span of a gnat, I couldn’t help but like the show. It was about as riveting as watching paint dry, but the blandness hooked you, much the same as watching Bob Ross’s painting show. All the guy did was cast the line, fish, catch a fish, talk about the fish, throw the fish back in the water, and repeat.
My dad loved to fish, although I don’t remember him doing it much as an adult. I know that he wanted to share that interest with me but, again, I couldn’t sit still long enough to wait on the fish. Obviously, I had no concept of what it meant to go fishing. Dad tried and tried with me. He got a canoe, and we went fishing at Oxbow Lake. All I caught was a hundred mosquito bites. The one fish I vaguely remember catching was off the bridge just down from our house. I guess for a little kid, it was big. My parents took a picture of me with it so it must have been a moment!
June 18th was National Go Fishing Day. When I read that, I immediately thought of that program I watched with dad and the song started playing in my head. Gone fishin, instead of just a wishin. Nostalgia. Sentiment. Memories. I sure would like to have a few more Sunday afternoons with dad, watching that show and listening to him sing along with the song. I’d just like to have a few more afternoons with my dad!
Okay, let me reel this back to the topic. Since this is Go Fishing Day, let’s remember that God has called all of His children to go fishing. No, a rod and a pole or a net isn’t going to haul in the fish. The Lord has something far better in mind.
Matthew 4:18-22 says, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (19) And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (20) And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. (21) And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. (22) And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”
Do you see what just happened? These men stopped fishing so that they could go fishing. They’ve gone fishin’!
Jesus calls His disciples to be fishers of men. Not just those original 12. Everyone who names the name of Jesus is to be a fisher of men – and women and boys and girls! We are supposed to go out into the sea of society and begin telling others how they can know Jesus as their Savior. We are supposed to treat it like a profession, not a hobby or 
something done a couple of times a year.
Just like me as a kid, if I didn’t catch anything, I would get discouraged. However, if I had stayed at it and kept fishing, eventually I would have become an accomplished fisherman. Well, don’t get discouraged when your first attempts either don’t find the “fish” biting, a “fish” broke the line, or got off the hook. Fishing for souls takes time and patience. Relax and enjoy the fishing trip.
Remember Proverbs 11:30. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
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