There may have been a heat index of 105 degrees Fahrenheit and sand hot enough to burn your feet today but that did not keep these kids from standing right at water’s edge fishing. Whether on the bridge or at the gazebo there were always campers with fishing rods in hand waiting for the fish or the occasional unfortunate turtle (have no fear, I saved the turtle). The kids patiently waited in the blaring sun for something to bite and pull their prize out of the lake. From a little 5 inch pickerel to a 15 inch bass every fish pulled out was a prize worth showing and a reward for standing out there so long.
I don’t know if you grew up singing the same Sunday School songs I did, but we sang quite a few songs about fish. There was this one that went: “I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men. I will make you fishers of men if you follow me.” As a little kid it was a fun song to sing and then name what kind of fish you had pulled out of the imaginary pond and we heard the story of how Jesus made the disciples’ nets overflow with fish. The song we were learning taught us that if we followed Jesus and weren’t just fans then we could be one of his disciples, make our nets overflow, and give us a catch of a lifetime.
But at the same time we are Jesus catch, he’s waiting for us to bite his hook and be the prize he was so longing for. The only thing is that it’s up to us to commit to taking his bait and no one else’s. He’s willing to stand out there day after day in the hot sun just waiting for us. Unlike the fishing we do at camp he’s not going to take the hook out and throw us back in the lake to handle the fresh hole in our flesh. He is going to keep us with him forever, we just need to get out of the murky lake water and into his hands, we need to pick him. It’s pretty neat to think about just as we will wait for the fish in Lake Agape to bite, so will he wait for us.
That may be the tiniest fish I have ever seen on a hook.