Time to sleep?

I brought lunch over to my daughter's house and then watched the kids while she did last minute errands around town today. They’re leaving at 3am for a California vacation, so there’s a lot of last-minute things she has to do. Four-year old Judah was excited about having some personal time and all of my focused attention again.

“Hey Nan,” he started enthusiastically, “let’s pretend we’re fishing!”

"Well, okay, what do we need to go fishing?" I asked.

“We need a fishing pole and some bait!” he exclaimed.

"Oh boy, my favorite things," I kidded. "You mean wiggly worms?"

"Yeah!"

We gathered a few toys that could somewhat function as the needed implements and jumped into the boat, which oddly resembled a leather sofa in the living room.

After a lot of antics hooking our wiggly worms (which loved to tickle little boys before they would venture onto a hook), we threw out the lines and started watching for a bite.

“Nan, I think it’s time to go to sleep now,” he announced matter-of-factly.

"Sleep? How are you going to know if you have a fish on the line if you’re sleeping?"

“You just hold on to the pole,” he explained in an authoritative tone. He shrugged and looked at me as if I should know this by now.

"Oh, so you go to sleep with the pole in your hands so that if a fish bites the hook, you feel the pull and quickly reel him in, is that it?"

“Yeah!” and he proceeded to lay back against the ample leather cushions and pretended to be snoring loudly.

I couldn’t help myself. I was now supposed to pretend to be snoring, but I was laughing too hard. It was so cute to watch how he thought you were supposed to fish.

Afterwards, I thought about how far from the truth such a child’s impression can be. Though most experienced fishermen would probably agree that it is relaxing, there is also work involved. And there’s a lot to learn about conditions and casting and timing. After investing in equipment and gear and finding the perfect spot, I doubt any of them get out there with baited hooks and just go to sleep.

What about the church though? Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men,” so this really isn’t a very far-fetched application. I wonder how many Christians sort of lay back and think, okay, I have my Bible in hand. I go to church on Sunday. Now it’s time to rest. The Lord will bring the fish to my hook and wake me up when it’s time to do something.

Lord Jesus, teach us how to live in full preparation of heart and mind and spirit. Keep us awake and watchful. The lake is truly full of fish that need to know you. Give us the desire to remain alert and sensitive to the opportunities all around us. School us in the real art of fishing.

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