The Merciful Fisherman - Devotional for Children
by Ruth Willms

Description: Talking to your child about the importance of introducing others to Jesus.

“One day as he was walking along the beach beside the Lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – out in a boat fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen.

“Jesus called out, ‘Come along with me and I will show you how to fish for the souls of men.’ And they left their nets at once and went with him.” Matthew 4: verses 18 and 19

Alberta is one of the lucky Canadian provinces to have a family holiday in February. Our family took advantage of it on Monday and spent the day ice-fishing.

My brother-in-law is an avid fisherman and a sportsman in other outdoor activities, like hunting and trapping. My sister and he make their home in Rocky Mountain House where moose, deer and elk, among other wild animals, roam their front yard. Ice-fishing with him isn’t just a fun experience; it’s a full day adventure.

First he drills the holes in the ice for us and then he sets up our private tents so the cold and wind can’t get at us. In this cozy little tent we sit in comfortable chairs while dangling our lines in front of us, watching for the fish to bite. Ed, my husband, and I, and our kids and grandkids, who joined us for the day, are all wimps. We claim we don’t know how to put the maggots on our hooks and we definitely don’t know how to take the hook out of the fishes’ mouth. So my sister and her husband graciously do these chores for us.

Everybody got bites in the first few minutes except my granddaughter and me. I don’t know why my granddaughter failed to catch even one fish but I know why I failed. I enjoyed watching the little perch come nosing around my hook. As soon as I thought he was getting ready to bite I kindly pulled up my line. He missed his breakfast but I also saved his life.

I love to eat fish but I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting his tender mouth. My kids call me the ‘kind fisherwoman’. I was only being merciful. Fortunately for me, Ed, my husband, caught his allowed number of fish within an hour, so we had lots to eat.

Jesus compares our fishing for perch to telling our friends and others about Jesus. When we have shared the gospel with someone and they accept Jesus as their Savior, we become fishers of men, or people. Jesus wants us to have fun ice-fishing and He knew His disciples, Peter and Andrew, had to fish to make a living. But He also wants us to think seriously and spend time with people in their lives. He wants us to share what we have experienced with Christ so our friends and the people in our lives can also know about Him and become His children.

Unlike ice-fishing, fishing for Jesus doesn’t bring pain and death. When we introduce our friend to Jesus, he or she experiences the best joy in the world and eternal life. Although they will have to die some day they will live forever in heaven with Jesus.

I missed out on the experience of catching my quota of fish on the weekend but I’m thankful that God has helped me to be a fisherwoman for Him. If you ask God to show you who to pray for especially, because you want to share Jesus with them, God will also give you the experience of being a fisherman or woman for Him.

Going deeper for parents:

I believe being a parent is the best job in the world. It is our responsibility to mold our impressionable child to be the best he can be. In some areas we are personally involved while in other areas we carefully choose an instructor or mentor.

I also believe that our biggest responsibility is caring for our child’s soul. We as parents can have the strongest impact in helping our child learn about Jesus and then choose to become His follower.

I was so blessed to introduce both of my kids to Jesus. I pray for each parent who reads this devotional that you will be the fisherman of your kid’s soul.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://www.ruthwillms.com. Check out daily devotionals for kids and their parents too at my blog http://www.ruthwillms.blogspot.com

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