One day Joe had a surprise for the whole group! He was going to take them fishing. He had taken four of the boys fishing before, and they had not caught any fish. Joe hoped that today they could all enjoy time at the beaver pond and catch some fish!
Joe already had the fishing poles, bait, and food for lunch loaded onto the trailer behind his four-wheeler. He left for the pond immediately because he wanted to get there first. If the kids got there first, they would make so much noise that they would scare the fish, and then they would not catch any fish!
Joe did get to the beaver pond first and he had the fishing poles unloaded before Haley and the kids came running down the trail. Joe stopped them and told them that they had to be quiet and be careful not to scare the fish away. Joe helped them bait their hooks and soon all the kids and Joe were fishing.
Patience is needed when fishing. A person needs to sit still and watch the bobber on the fishline. If the bobber goes under water, there is a fish eating the bait. It was hard to sit still for very long, but the kids were doing good!
Then there was a problem! Haley’s leg was falling asleep, it was starting to get numb, and she had to do something about it! She carefully moved her leg to a more comfortable position, and suddenly her feet slipped on the muddy bank! With a scream, Haley fell into the beaver pond! She landed flat on her belly and splashed water onto the rest of the kids, and they screamed when the cold water hit them! Haley took off her shoes and threw them onto the bank, and then she swam around in the pond. She yelled to the rest of the kids, “Come on in! It is great!”
The rest of the kids told Haley that the water was too cold, but Haley told them that once she was completely in the water, it did not seem cold anymore. The rest of the kids took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their pant legs, and began wading close to the shore. They were cold and complained that it was not a good day to swim. Haley swam up behind one of the bigger boys, grabbed him and pulled him under water! The boy yelled in surprise, but then he yelled to the other kids that the water was great once you were all the way in!
The kids all jumped completely into the water, and they all shouted with joy! They were having a great time! They were yelling, jumping, and splashing in the water! Joe sighed and began putting the fishing poles back into the trailer. Because of all the noise and splashing, Joe and the kids would not catch any fish, the great blue herons flew away to fish somewhere else, and the bald eagles flew away to find food somewhere else! There will be no fish caught today at the beaver pond!
By lunch time, the kids were finally tired and came out of the water. Since they had gone into the water wearing all their clothes, they all had to sit in the sun for a long time to dry off! While they were eating and drying off, Joe taught them a little more about God.
Joe compared their swimming adventure to the way people try to live the Christian life. Joe opened his Bible to Psalm 34:8-10 and read:
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! Fear the Lord, you His godly people for those who fear Him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
Joe said that a lot of people try to live the Christian life like the kids went into the pond. The kids waded in the water right at the edge of the pond and were scared to go all the way in because they thought that it would be cold. In the same way, many people believe a little bit about God, but they are afraid to make a complete commitment and truly become a believer. Joe told the kids to imagine that they had their favorite kind of pizza and had the whole pizza to themselves. Would they be satisfied to just take one bite? Of course not! After the first bite they would want to eat the whole thing!
Many people go through their whole life with just a little belief in God, but they use all kinds of excuses not to go all the way and become a true believer. Just like the kids would not go all the way into the pond because they used the excuse that the water was cold.
When Haley pulled that first boy all the way into the water, he found out that it was great! His fear was needless, and he would have missed so much if he had not gone all the way into the water! It is the same with the Christian life, if a person uses excuses and just stays at the edge of the Christian life, then they will miss out on everything worthwhile!
Joe picked up his Bible and turned to Mark 12:28-31 where Jesus says:
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Being a true believer and follower of Jesus means that you make a complete commitment to Him. Do not try to just stay at the edge of the Christian life, take the plunge and go all the way!
After Joe had finished speaking the kids’ clothes were almost dry and it was time to head back to the farm. Haley ran down to the pond to get her shoes. With a piercing scream she slipped on the bank and fell into the pond again! The kids looked at each other and said, “Why not! Let’s go all the way!” They all ran screaming to the pond and jumped in for another swim!
Joe just shook his head and said, “It is going to be a long afternoon!”