Atascadero, CA
“But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks. My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes. I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idol.” Jeremiah 16:16-18
I believe that the blood of Jesus is not selective or predestined but is for “whosoever” (John 3:16) chooses to receive it. I believe that the heart of God is that, “none to perish but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). I believe that the blood of Jesus is so powerful that it reaches out to “all men the righteous and the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18)” simply because God “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
I believe that the sacrifice of Jesus is not selective but that he, “gave himself as a ransom for all men” (1Timothy 2:6).
I do, however, acknowledge as Jesus did that, “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Sadly, I admit that the catch of souls will be far less than those condemned. I also acknowledge that “no man is without excuse (Romans 1:20).” I believe every soul will somehow, in some way, have a shot at salvation albeit through a missionary, a crisis, or even the evangelistic cry of God’s creation.
Not only does God proclaim his story through creation but He sends men into the world to catch the souls of men. Look at our passage for today. God will send people to hunt and fish for the hearts of men. This leads me to consider some questions, “How does a hunter hunt? How does a fisherman fish?”
First, both hunter and fishermen strategically place themselves where they believe the game lives. They get into the proximity of the game-closeness. Second, they present the bait-lure, decoy, call, or scent, in such a manner as to deceive the prey into stepping out of its hiding place becoming vulnerable. Third, once the opportunity presents itself he has the skill set and know-how to make the shot or set the hook.
To hunt and fish for men is a strategic attempt to cause the soul of another man to strike the line of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every man is a hunter for souls and is sent into the world by Jesus who came to, “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Who are the lost souls in your circle? Have you grown weary in your attempt to reach them? Have you moved away from their proximity? Have you compromised your presentation of the gospel message by any recent life choices you have made?
