Justin Morton
My first experience with fishing was in the pond behind our house, a pond I knew very well because I lost quite a few baseballs in that pond. However, I never spent much time fishing. Then one day my uncle was fishing and decided to teach me the finer points of his hobby. Within a matter of minutes, I had caught my first fish. As exciting as it was to catch that fish, do you know what I remember most about that day? I remember the fish struggling to survive. That fish wanted to be back in the water because water is a source of life for fish. Once a fish is out of water, it is unable to survive for very long.
Sometimes I feel as though Christians have a lot more in common with fish than we probably realize. You see, like fish, we sometimes take the bait and allow ourselves to be pulled away from our source of life into a world that threatens our survival. James said “A friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). When we allow ourselves to bite the lure the world dangles before us, we are pulled away from obedience to God. We find ourselves giving in to sin and thereby making ourselves an enemy to God. Like fish, we take the bait and are pulled away into a world that threatens our survival, our eternal survival.
Sure the bait looks appetizing, but it’s just a trick. By the time the fish realizes it has made a huge mistake, it is struggling to survive. Friends, let’s stay alert so we don’t take the bait that leads to our separation from God.