The next day Joe had a surprise for the kids. When they arrived at the farm, Joe told them that they were going to ride the bus to a ranger station and learn about forest fires! The is would be a great opportunity to learn some valuable information, and the kids were excited to go!
Then there was some trouble! The kids had all been told to pack a sack lunch today because of the surprise trip, and four of the boys had forgotten to pack a lunch! The other kids laughed at them and made fun of them, and even Haley called them stupid because they had forgotten their lunch! The four boys were embarrassed and hurt. They got mad and said that they did not want to go to the ranger station! They wanted to stay at the farm with Joe. Joe saw that the boys were so upset that they would not enjoy being with the rest of the group and that would ruin the trip for everyone. So, Joe told the four boys that they could stay with him and that they would go fishing! Joe was not happy with the rest of the kids, and he was very upset with Haley because she was so unkind and mean!
The rest of the kids and Haley got on the bus and left! Joe took the boys into the kitchen, and he helped them make lunches for all of them to eat while they were fishing. Joe and the boys went to the barn and the boys helped Joe hook a small trailer to his 4-wheeler. The trailer was just big enough to hold the fishing poles, tackle boxes, bait, lunches, and the four boys. Joe strapped his crutches onto the 4-wheeler, and he drove them down the trail to the beaver pond. Unlike Haley, Joe went carefully down the last hill and around the curve, and he did not fall into the pond! Joe told the boys that the beaver pond would probably be a good place to fish because the water was still, and there were many logs around the edge of the pond where fish might be hiding.
They picked a nice spot on the bank and began fishing. Fishing takes patience and they certainly needed patience! The fish did not seem to be biting. A few fish nibbled at their bait, and a few times fish stole their bait, but they did not catch any fish. They were sitting very quietly because noise could scare the fish away.
Suddenly the quietness was shattered by a loud croaking bird call! The boys thought it sounded like a flying dinosaur! When they saw the bird, it even looked like a small flying dinosaur. It was gray and thin with a long body, and it had a long neck, long legs, and a wide wingspan. This strange looking bird landed in the pond across from Joe and the boys. Joe whispered to the boys that the bird was a Great Blue Heron. It was a fishing bird, and it was going to try to catch some fish. The Great Blue Heron was very patient, it stood completely motionless in the water watching for a fish to come close to it. Suddenly its long neck shot down into the water and it snatched a small fish in its long beak! The Great Blue Heron swallowed the fish whole and then it patiently waited for another fish! A few minutes later the boys noticed something! The Great Blue Heron had moved! The Heron had moved slowly and carefully so that it would not scare the fish. The boys had not even seen it move! The Great Blue Heron continued to fish, and it caught several more fish! Joe and the boys still had not caught anything!
While the boys were watching the Great Blue Heron, Joe noticed some movement in the tops of the trees by the beaver pond. Two large birds had landed on the top of a dead tree. These were not water birds, they did not have long legs or long necks, but they were much bigger than the Great Blue Heron. These birds each had a white head and white tail feathers. They were Bald Eagles! Joe quietly got the boys’ attention and pointed to the two eagles, and whispered to the boys that the eagles were also at the pond to go fishing!
Bald Eagles have extremely good eyesight and from the top of that tree they could see the fish in the pond. Suddenly one of the eagles dove from the tree and plunged almost into the pond! At the last second the eagle used its wings to level off and reached into the water with its the talons on its feet and snatched a large fish out of the water! The eagle flew away with the large fish, and Joe explained that it was probably taking the fish to the baby eagles in their nest. Soon the other eagle caught a fish, and then the first eagle came back and continued to fish. Most of the time they caught a fish, but sometimes they missed their fish!
All morning the Great Blue Heron and the two Bald Eagles caught fish, but Joe and the boys did not catch anything! After they had eaten their lunches, they fished for awhile more. They were just about ready to go back to the farm when it happened! One of the boys had a fish on his line! He carefully reeled in the fish and landed it! Joe shook his head and said that the fish was too small to keep, they had to take it off the hook and throw it back into the pond! They did not catch any other fish.
Later when they got back to the farm, Joe fixed a snack for the boys and told them that they could learn more about God from their fishing trip.
Some the Jesus’ disciples had been fishermen, they earned their living by going out in their boats everyday and using nets to catch fish to sell. When Jesus called these men to follow him, he told them to leave their boats and nets and follow him.
In the Bible in Matthew 4:19 Jesus says:
“Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
Jesus told these disciples that He wanted them to fish for people instead of fishing for fish! After a person has believed in Jesus and asked Him to come into their life and forgive their sins, then it is very important to tell other people about Jesus. Other people need to know that Jesus died to pay for all their sins and that they can have a new life in Jesus! Every believer in Jesus needs to tell others the good news, this is called ‘sharing your faith’.
Not everyone shares their faith in the same way. Some believers are like the Bald Eagle, they boldly dive in and tell other people about the difference that Jesus has made in their life! It seems like this type of believer is always telling someone about Jesus, and often they speak to people that they do not even know. These believers seem to be successful most of the time, they lead many people to Jesus and help them to get to know Jesus.
Other believers are more like the Great Blue Heron. They are not so outspoken about their faith, they patiently live the Christian life, and talk to the people they meet about Jesus from time to time. This type of believer demonstrates how Jesus has changed their life and develop friendships and then share their faith with the people with whom they have developed a relationship.
Still other believers are more like Joe and the boys; they live the Christian life, tell others about Jesus, but they never ‘catch’ anyone for Jesus. Many times, these believers struggle, they might wonder what they are doing wrong, and feel like they are not making any difference in this world. They have the right attitude and want to bring others to Jesus, and they do what they can, but do not see anyone getting saved.
Joe told the boys that a good fishing day is not necessarily measured by the number of fish that are caught. The important thing is that you go fishing! It is the same when a believer is obeying Jesus and ‘fishing for people’. The important thing is that you are obedient and tell others about Jesus by the way you live, and by your words when you get the chance. It is totally up to them to decide if they want to believe and accept Jesus into their life. Not everyone has the same type of personality and not everyone will be able to tell others about Jesus in the same way. It is important not to compare yourself to others. Each believer needs to use the personality and the gifts that God has given to them and tell others about Jesus in the best way that they can.
Just when Joe finished talking to the boys, the bus arrived at the farm. Haley and the rest of the kids came running into the farmhouse. Haley yelled, “We had so much fun and learned so much today! I want to tell you all about it, but first I need to say something!” She turned to the four boys and said, “I learned today that it is very easy to hurt people with your tongue! I am so sorry that I said those mean and unkind things to you this morning! Will you please forgive me?” The boys smiled and said that they would forgive her. Haley then excitedly told Joe, “I need to you about everything we learned today.” Joe smiled and took a snack out of the refrigerator and said, “You and the rest of the kids that went to visit the ranger station must be hungry. While you eat, you can tell me about your adventures today!”