“The Netcaster” by Justin March

“And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”Matthew 4:19

I am standing on the shore and casting out my net.  I can see the fish in the shallow waters of the lake, and as the web hits the surface and begins its’ descent, most of them scatter to get away.  I get frustrated as time after time that net comes back empty.  So, I cast it one last time, pack up my gear, and head home for the day.  I will come back tomorrow and try again.

The morning sun rises, and I decide to go back to the lake.  I cast that net again, but the results are the same.  I try and try, yet the emptiness of my endeavor dampens my mood and deflates my motivation.  So, as I contemplate calling it quits for the day, I decide to toss it out there one more time.

My wrist turns a little and now my net is taking an awkward flight.  Instead of hitting the safety of the water I can see in front of me, it gets hung up in the reeds.  It has landed in an area I would never purposefully cast into, for fear of the snags and obstacles that come with getting tangled up in the darkness.

But something happens here.  As I try to overcome the mess I have landed in, I can feel something fighting to get away.  A fish has found itself lost in the troubles the net has brought with it.  It struggles as it swims this way and that, but no matter how many times it tries to get out, it remains stuck until I come to help.  I jump in the water, with my knife in hand, and begin to cut the net so a path appears the fish can follow.  And after a little guidance and clearer direction, God’s creature finds its’ way out to safety and peace.

As we are casting out our nets to try to bring people to God, are we always throwing them in the same place?  Are we merely testing the waters where we feel comfortable and know what lies beneath?  Or are we being bold and allowing those webs to reach the dark corners and hidden spaces that lie outside the beaten path?

I can tell you this.  When I cast my net into the familiar waters, it often comes back empty.  I have saturated my calling to bring others who look like me and act like me back to the flock.  But when I venture out to those spaces where the waters are murky and the inhabitants unknown, I am always astonished at what my net brings back.  It can often be a treacherous and daunting endeavor, but it is in these spaces where we need to be searching for God’s lost people.

Cast those nets far and wide.  Allow God’s guidance and direction to flow through you so others may follow.  And remember that with Jesus by our side, we can have the confidence to reach out into the darkness, cut out the reeds that bind, and use his tools to help others find that safety and peace they are so desperately reaching for.

It does not matter how many times your ventures come back empty.  Never stop casting that net!