“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”
Matthew 13:47-48 (NIV)
The purpose of stopping at a fast food restaurant is to get your food . . . fast. However, it is NOT a place to get RID OF your food fast. Let me explain. My daughter and I stopped to get some fast food on our way home from a long trip and it truly didn’t take long at all. We ordered, paid, and were handed a sack with our food in about six minutes. End of story. Well, not quite.
I had a great idea to clean out the old fast food containers in the car to make room for the new ones. Empty cups, half-eaten burgers, and empty French fry containers were collected and I quickly stuffed them in a sack and tossed them in the trash. As we started to drive off, my daughter asked “Where’s our food?”
We looked everywhere in the car when she suddenly laughed “Mom! I bet you threw away our good food when you tossed out the bad!” I quickly jumped out of the car and ran over to the trash can and yes, there it was: the food we had just purchased in the same sack with all the trash that we had collected.
I had neglected to separate our freshly purchased food from the old food in the car! I dug out our sandwiches but somehow they had lost their appeal. There’s something about old and new burgers and fries in the same sack in the trash that curbs a person’s appetite in seconds.
The Scripture found in Matthew 13:47-48 also refers to good and bad together as Jesus teaches His disciples about the judgment to come. In this parable, Jesus talks about fishermen who caught a full net of fish and pulled their load up on the shore. They then began the task of separating the good fish from the bad. The good were placed in baskets but the bad fish were thrown away.
It is important to note that the fishermen didn’t randomly toss the good and bad fish but instead “they sat down” to take their time as they carefully sorted and separated each one. Jesus is teaching his disciples – and us – that when He returns, there will be a separating, not of fish, but of believers and non-believers. Believers will live with Him for eternity but non-believers will be separated from Jesus – also for eternity.
Have you shared Jesus with your friends and family and that His coming is near? Judgment is real. Separation is coming. Just as all the fish swam around in the net until they were pulled to shore, we all live together in this world. But one day that will change. As believers, we must tell everyone about this beautiful Jesus we serve before the nets are pulled to shore and we are separated for eternity. It’s time to share Jesus before the separation.
Father, in my heart I know that you will be coming back soon. Give me the courage and conviction to share Jesus with everyone around me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
Can you picture this parable with nets full of people instead of fish being pulled to shore?
Does that make the urgency of sharing Jesus with them before they are separated more real to you?
Apply
Draw a “lake” in your journal and write the names of those you love who do not have a relationship with Jesus inside the circle.
Journal what you would say to them if they were drowning and you needed to pull them to shore. Pray for each one and then talk to them about your love for Jesus.
Power
Matthew 13:47-48 (NIV) “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”
Matthew 25:32 (NIV) “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
II Peter 3:9 (NIV) “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)
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