INSPIRASUNS

One of the fun things about living in SW FL, well, living anywhere by the water, is being able to fish pretty much whenever you can muster the time. I’ve always loved this activity. Probably comes from growing up with two older brothers, and of course, my dad loved to fish as well. I’m not a full-fledged angler who knows every type of bait to use in every situation, or even one who can tie every knot out there, but hey I’ve been known to hold my own most of the time.

This year I’m on the planning committee for our church’s annual fishing tournament. It’s the 11th year and yesterday during a meeting we were discussing the past tournaments. It was fun to see pictures of the first year and how so many of the youth back then have grown into young adults, but that’s for another blog.

One of my responsibilities for the tournament is to order the annual fishing shirt. It’s a standard fishing shirt that you see most wear, you know the long sleeve, with buttons, pockets, loops, and such. Anyway, I have to get the annual logo embroidered on the shirt. When I saw the logo I wondered what it meant. It’s three fish that form a circle, nose to tail, nose to tail, and nose to tail. You get the idea. Well, those fish are inside a triangle. They symbolize the trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. When I asked about this logo and its meaning, it was indeed interesting. It comes from centuries ago when Christians were fearful of sharing who they were. When they would come upon each other they had a code, one would use their foot to draw a crescent shape in the sand. If they were meeting a fellow Christian, the other person would draw in the sand a crescent shape in the opposite direction, forming the outline of the fish. The code is known as the ichthys, I’m sure you’ve seen it, there’s a picture below.

I guess where I”m going with this is yesterday Father showed me the significance of fish in our spiritual lives. Jesus told his disciples, some fishermen by trade, to follow Him and He would make them “fishers of men”. The many times that Jesus fed the masses with just a few fish. The “secret sign” to show a fellow Christian they are not alone. The way a church fishing tournament brings everyone, young and old, together in fellowship and the love of Father.

So, just a little fun history today. I’m blessed to live where I do and to have the opportunity to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies. I’m also incredibly blessed that God continues to guide me and show me how things like these simple hobbies are a way to share His love and message.

Have a great day my friends, I’m off to look at my schedule and see if I can squeeze in some fishing this weekend 🙂 .

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