Hi, all. Just a thought to help start your weekend.

This is a beautiful fish living in a tank in a children’s museum that we visited a few years ago. The word “fish” is a word that can become different things. First of all, it can be a noun — a thing. For instance, the fish lives in that big tank. But if I tell someone that I’m going down to the pond to fish, the word becomes a verb — a word that implies action on my part. To fish is to hook a worm or some such bait on a hook attached to a line on a pole, with the anticipation of catching something.

Then, if I catch some fish when I go to fish, and my house smells fishy when I cook them, the word has become an adjective — “fishy.”  Of course, if I catch no fish, nothing is fishy. I’m just not good at it!

The Bible tells us that we are to be fishers of men. Fishermen catch fish. Fishers of men are those who work to introduce others into the body of Christ.

I enjoy sitting and watching the fish and other creatures that live in those big aquarium tanks. Sometimes, like in this picture, a fish will even pause to watch me. I wonder what he sees in me.

As a Christian who is to be a fisher of men, are we casting our nets out into the deep expecting a large catch? Are we using the correct bait of Scripture and Godly example to bring them in? Are we feeding the fish the necessary nutrients in order to help them grow? OR, are we content to sit on the bench and just watch the fish?

Watching can be fun. It can be quite entertaining. I used to love to sit with my Dad’s mother on the bench in the Memphis mall and watch people. But just watching doesn’t get me as involved as I need to be. I must tend to my nets. I need to make sure my line is untangled and that my rod and reel are in good working order. I will never be perfect at it, but I don’t have to be. I’m simply to be obedient and go fish.

When you played that card game with your kids or grandkids and you didn’t have the particular picture they were looking for, your response was always, “Go fish!” That’s God’s two-word challenge to each of us this week. Go fish. Try breaking it down into two assignments. Go. Fish. And ask yourself if you only “go” and aren’t taking the call to “fish” importantly enough.

Go fish!

Just a thought. ’Til later.

Brad Campbell can be reached at mastah.pastah@yahoo.com.