One day at our house, a saw caught a fish! Isn’t that strange? Only it’s probably not the kind of saw you are thinking about, and it’s almost certainly not the kind of fish you are thinking about.
The saw that caught the fish wasn’t a hand saw; it was an electric band saw! That’s a saw that cuts wood quickly, makes lots of noise, and can be used to cut out shapes in wood.
And the fish? The “fish” was the kind that the Lord Jesus talked about when He said to Peter, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:1919And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19). Yes, the “fish” that was caught at our house with a saw was a young man!
When we moved into our new house a few years ago, one of the first things we wanted to do was meet the people in our new neighborhood especially the children and teenagers. We wanted to tell them the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15).
Several of the younger children were so friendly that the first time we walked up the sidewalk to our new home, they walked right in the door with us! We even had our first Bible story time with them before the boxes and clothes were unpacked.
But getting the older boys to come in was not so easy. Teenagers always seem to have ball games to play, or places to go, or friends to talk to. Besides, one of the mothers had told them not to come to our house because maybe the new neighbors did not like them. (She did not know that we wanted to be “fishers of men”!) We knew that we must have some help to “catch” the young men in the neighborhood.
One day not long after we moved in, we took a band saw outside and began to cut pieces of wood. The saw made a lot of noise, and it wasn’t long before some heads began to appear over the fence.
“Hello!” we said.
“What are you doing?” they asked.
We explained a little and invited them into the yard and let them begin to use our saw and other tools. The saw had not actually caught any fish yet, but they were nibbling! James was one of the boys who heard the saw that day. Soon he and his brothers and friends began coming often to our house to use the tools to make things out of wood. Each time after they worked for a while, we would sit down and read God’s Word, the Bible, and tell them the wonderful news that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).
It was the first time that James and his friends had ever heard this wonderful news. One friend said, “I’ve never had neighbors to talk to me about the Bible like this.” James listened carefully to God’s Word, asked many questions and kept coming back to work with the tools. The young men made baseball bats turned on the lathe, wooden plates, a lamp and wooden boxes. James made a tall bookshelf for his room at home. And each time he was over he listened to the message that he needed to be saved from his sins before Jesus comes.
After a while, James realized that the message he was hearing from the Bible was far more important than the things he was making with tools. He accepted the Lord Jesus as his Saviour -he was “caught” for the Lord!
When the Lord Jesus catches a young man, He does something different than a fisherman does with a fish. The Lord Jesus catches men in order to set them free! “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:3232And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32).
Now that James was caught for Jesus, he was free from his sins. One night we asked James, “What made you sure that you are saved?”
Have you been “caught” for Jesus? Are you sure, like James, that your sins are forgiven? If you are not caught for Jesus, then you will be caught by the devil, and his hooks hurt! The Bible calls them “the fiery darts of the wicked” and “the snare of the devil.” Come to Jesus for salvation today and you will find what it means to be free from your sins and free from hell.
James is now doing some fishing of his own. He is trying to catch fish with pencils! He takes pencils with Bible verses on them to school. Whenever anyone needs a pencil, he gives them one and tells them they can keep it. He hopes they will read it and be saved from their sins be caught for Jesus. If you are already saved, then don’t forget that many things can be used for this kind of fishing! You can be a fisher of men by playing a guitar and singing to others. Or you could share your toys and tell others about the Saviour. Maybe you could even use chocolate chip cookies as you fish for boys and girls and men and women.
If your sins are not forgiven, then Jesus is fishing for you right now with this little paper. Let Him forgive your sins and you will find how wonderful God’s freedom is. “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Psalm 34:88O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8).
ML-07/26/1992