Back in the days when Paul authored those words, the Greeks were sports mad. In fact, things haven’t changed much. Even as I write this, millions of avid sports fans are anticipating the upcoming Super Bowl where the Patriots and Falcons are gearing up for a Super Bowl ring.
In March, millions will be tuning into the NCAA basketball tournament and then the baseball season begins. Each team will once again vie for a trophy, a ring that will be placed around their finger.
And then others will be looking towards getting out on the water and throwing a hook in the water. We call it fishing.
Fishing is actually a biblical sport, isn’t’ it? 7 out of the 12 disciples were fishermen; Jesus talked a lot about fishing. And there are those whom we know who make a living at it.
Ed Young writes, “I was fishing in Florida in a small boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When I say “a small boat,” I’m talking about a 16-foot skiff. We had a wonderful day fishing, the sun was melting into the horizon and we were cruising back to the marina. It’s a perfect day.
He says that while cruising back to the marina he happened to see out of the corner of his eye a boat on the horizon and behind the boat was a guy who was swimming. He thought to himself, “Why is that guy swimming?” Earlier they had seen some rather huge sharks in the water. I mean, “You don’t swim at dusk.”
He turned to his friend and said, “Let’s go check this out,” and as they got closer, they realized this man was in the middle of drowning. He was a rather large gentleman, but they reached overboard and begin to pull him into their boat, all the while taking on water themselves.
They managed to get him on board, and this man, coughing up salt water began to cry saying, “You guys rescued me, man! You guys saved my life! I was going under the last time!”
They asked him what happened, and he said that while fishing he had lost his balance and had gone overboard. By the time he got his bearings the boat was drifting away from him.
Ed Young says as they got back to the marina there was a million dollar boat docked right in front of the Marina. A guy and his girlfriend were standing on the boat. The guy and girl both waved to them, and Ed couldn’t help but think if they had looked close enough they would have seen what happened.
And then the Holy Spirit whispered to him, “That’s the problem. So many Christians have a marina mentality. We’re tied to the dock just chilling, smiling and waving while people are drowning within earshot and eyesight without Jesus.
Paul was all about the “ring.” Not the kind we put on a finger to celebrate a championship, but the kind which is thrown into the water to help rescue drowning swimmers. Even more so, he wasn’t against jumping in and bringing them to shore.
It’s a simple reminder that everything we do should be about the rescue.
One of the goals that we at Christ Church have set for 2017 is for an intentional rescue, whether it be inviting someone to church to worship, a small group, or a dinner entry event, we want people to know Jesus. There’s an old phrase which says, “Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.” People need the Lord.