Ryan's Laws for Fishing

“Hey, Mom, I think I’m getting sick,” Ryan said.  

“You look pretty healthy to me.  What do you think is wrong?  I can’t recognize any symptoms.”  I was mystified.  

“I know I’m getting sick.  It’s about to be an emergency,” he insisted.  My son was very serious, but obviously not sick.  

I tried hard not to laugh.  I could tell something was up.  “Do you need medicine?” I asked.  

Finally, he started laughing.  “Yep.  Fishing medicine.  It’s been so long since I went fishing that it’s making me sick.  I may not be able to go to school tomorrow!” 

 In the interest of school attendance, I sent him straight to the lake until supper.  

Ryan considered himself an expert fisherman and, several years ago, developed Ryan’s Laws for Fishing.  As a fisher of men, you may find them helpful, too.

1. You can’t catch fish with slime on your bait.  
2. If the fish aren’t biting, try changing your bait.  
3. If the big fish are eating all the little fish, you’d better try for the big ones, even if they are harder to reel in.
4. There’s more than one kind of fish in the lake.  Different kinds of fish bite different kind of bait.
5. Little fish are always hungrier.
6. It’s nice to have bait from the bait shop, but not essential.
7. Mommies don’t like to take the fish off the hook, but they can if they have to.
8. If you’re fishing in tall grass, you’d better look out for snakes.

  

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

What those laws teach about purity, spiritual warfare, reaching out to those around us, and servanthood is worth remembering.  If you are fishing for men but having no success, perhaps you should take a close look at Ryan’s fishing laws and make some adjustments in your bait or your technique.  The objective is not just fishing, but also bringing home a catch.  How well are you doing?