One of the worn-out jokes around here goes like this: Why did the (man/woman/preacher/whoever you want to pinpoint) go fishing? Answer: ?Just for the halibut.?
I know there?s not a lot of ha-ha factor there but there is an important message in that feeble attempt at humour. Whether it is halibut, salmon or cod, you have to know what you?re going after and you?ve got to have the right gear to accomplish the task.
I?m no experienced fisher but I?ve grasped the necessity and the power of identifying goals. As a fledgling writer, one of the greatest lessons I learned involved determining my target audience, finding out which publication catered to that audience and studying editorial guidelines specific to each publication. In other words, there?s no use researching and writing an article about tennis and submitting it to the editor of a cooking magazine for consideration. Unless he or she holds a dual position as sports and gourmet food copyreader, there?s virtually no chance of having the work accepted.
It?s like that with fishing and with life, too ? you?ve got to determine what you?re going for and prepare accordingly. Even I know you don?t go after salmon with a 200 pound test line and you don?t jig for bottom cod with a six pound line ? and, you sure don?t go after halibut in a 12-foot skiff sporting a 24 horsepower motor!
This seems like such simple stuff and yet, when it comes to the rest of our life, it?s so easy to forget. Somehow I suspect that I?m not the only one who can get so busy serving God that communion with Him is neglected.
?As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.? Psalm 42:1-3
Hungry for fish or thirsty for God - set your eyes on the goal!
