With My Word as My Bait and God as My Rod PART 1

When I was four years old, my parents entered me into the local fishing tournament, meant for children of all ages, and trust me, there were all ages fishing that day, anywhere from four year old me to my 60 year old grandparents with the video camera. I remember how boring I thought it was, and how nobody in the whole competition had caught a fish yet. The glassy pond we were fishing in was just one of the many attractions of the beautiful park. There were also sidewalks, and fields, and, a four year olds dream- playgrounds. I begged and pleaded with my parents, trying to convince them to let me abandon my boring, un-moving, un-tugging, un-anything fishing rod, to go to the colorful jungle-gym, glistening in the sun, calling my name and pulling me towards it. But my parents refused, they saw my childish impatience. They told me to be persistent, to not give up, and if I stuck with it, I would be very happy. So, trusting my parents, I obeyed them and kept a firm eye on the rod.
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An hour later I was holding a shiny gold and red trophy in my hands, gripping it with all of my heart. I was one of the only children in my age group all day to catch a fish- it wasn’t even a big fish, but it still mattered. I had a big old grin on my face the whole time, loving that my parents’ promise of happiness with persistence had come true.

There’s a lot to learn from this story, and when I first heard the verse, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.” (Joshua 1:16) I couldn’t think of a good topic, but as soon as I came across this memory, I couldn’t get it out of mind. Ideas and ways I could relate that verse to Christianity kept pouring over me until finally they were let loose through pencil onto paper. Joshua 1:16 is telling us that whatever god tells us to do, we need to do it. An example of one thing God wants us to do is in Mark 16:15, where Jesus says to, “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” So, Joshua 1:16 commands us to do what God commands, and Mark 16:15 tells us exactly what to do. Now, here’s where my story comes in. Fishing seems to be an awful lot like teaching the Gospel. You need a great deal of faith in order to teach the Gospel, because when times are hard and it feels like no one is listening, you must trust God, just as I trusted my parents, that you will be rewarded when the “fish” bites.

Written by: Kristina Kohl
LOOK FOR PART 2 NEXT WEEK!!!!