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What Does it Mean to ‘Make You Fishers of Men’?

  Jesus went looking for fishermen. He looked for those who could translate their experience with fish to a similar process with with souls. He said, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Not, “follow me and I’ll help you walk in identity.” But, “I will teach you to go afte…
By Seth Barnes
 
Jesus went looking for fishermen. He looked for those who could translate their experience with fish to a similar process with with souls. He said, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Not, “follow me and I’ll help you walk in identity.” But, “I will teach you to go after people’s hearts.”
 
As a guy who has fished a lot in my life, I understand what it means to put bait on a hook. I understand that once you hook a fish, you have to fight to pull them to you. I once hooked a 900 pound bull shark who grabbed the bait, ran out to sea and broke the line. I learned an important lesson: the whole process of fishing is an aggressive act. You have to go after the fish.
 
I wonder if perhaps we’ve lost sight of Jesus’ desire to turn us into fishermen. Fishing for hearts and connecting them to Jesus, a mighty savior who loves them and came to embrace them.
 
I wonder if we see our story as a powerful tool. Our story is a weapon that defeats our enemy and brings hope to someone who needs it. 
 
I wonder if we see that when we tell our story of faith, we’re doing so to connect hearts. Do we see that when we choose to press into risky, faith-dependent places, we’re choosing to live the kind of story worth telling?
 
Our stories have power
 
Do we even understand the power of our story to defeat our enemy? Our enemy is accusing us day and night. The Bible tells us we defeat him with our story or testimony.
 
“For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down…They have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” Revelations 12:10-11 
 
In recent years, parents have focused on raising their children to be good consumers of stories, but not good story tellers.
 
At Adventures, we want to help young people live stories worth telling. And then we want to help them to become fishers of men (and women) – fishers for their hearts. 
 
Too many people have failed to understand that Jesus is still calling his disciples to go looking in places where people have hidden their hearts. When we help love them to a place of freedom, they suddenly have some very good news – a story worth telling!
 
Tell a good story
 
We all love a good story. More of us need to tell one. An online journal (or blog) is a good place to do that. It doesn’t have to be long. Hemingway showed us that a story that moves our hearts can be as short as six words:
 
      “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” 
 
My story is one of a young man looking for acceptance and adventure. I traveled the world, wanting to make a difference while caring for the least and the lost. Eventually I began to realize that a whole generation of young people had the same foundational urges that I did. 
 
When I realized that Jesus gives us all the opportunity to live a good story journeying the world with him, everything changed. Since then, I’ve devoted my life to helping people trust Jesus in crazy ways and then to tell others about it. 
 
My call is to help others live a good story and then share it. God wants us to fish for people who are ready to answer Jesus’ call to change their vocations to become fishermen (and women).
 
What story are you telling with your life? Who are you telling the story to? The accuser of our brothers has been thrown down… We will defeat him by the blood of the Lamb and by our stories. 

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