recentchristian

I was reading Matthew last night after coming in from prayer group and came to this passage:

Matthew 4:18-22:  “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.  Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.  Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

I thought I had finally discovered the connection between Christians and fish!  I had always wondered and never had a clue at all.  I excitedly sent a text to my Pastor and to one of the girls in prayer group and also to one other person.  I told them “OMGosh!! I get the whole fish thing!” and made reference to the passage.  I always wondered why there were bumper stickers and different paraphernalia with fish.

After my initial excitement died a little, I remembered reading something in John (the only gospel I have read so far – I’m reading Matthew now) about fish:

John 11-13:  “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.  He did the same with the fish.  When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over.  Let nothing be wasted.”  So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”

After I reread the verses in John, I had to check the other gospels to see what they had to say about Jesus feeding 5,000.

Matthew 14: 19-21:  “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.  Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Mark 6:41-44:  “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.  Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.  He also divided the two fish among them all.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.  The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.”

Luke 9:16-17:  “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them.  Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

Maybe feeding so many with two fish also has something to do with the Christian/fish connection.  Apart from the miracle, the emphasis seems to be more on the loaves of bread than on the fish though.  So, why not a Christian/bread connection?

In my mind, the Matthew 4 passage has more to do with the Christian/fish connection than anything – at least to this (new – and learning – Christian).  We are called to evangelize, to be fisherman.  To share the gospel with fish (non-believers) and, in turn, hopefully, they will also become fishermen as well.  Evangelizing and sharing the good news has so much more to do with being a Christian than the miracles Jesus performed – well, at least in my mind – probably has something to do with which side of the cross you’re coming from.

Then I ask:  why not birds?  Why not a Christian/bird connection?

Matthew 6:26-27:  “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

As I grow in my faith and continue to read the Bible, I’m sure I’ll have a better understanding of the whole Christian/fish connection and come to learn that it’s something entirely different than what I’m thinking now.