Wanting to Live like Jesus? Go Fish.

If I asked someone how to grow my relationship with Jesus, I’d expect advice like this.

Be sure to read your bible every day. Don’t miss church on Sunday. Squeeze in regular prayer….and don’t forget to volunteer somewhere!

Certainly, none of these are bad to do.

But here’s one piece of advice I’ve never heard….

Go fishing.

Fishing Messiah

This past Friday, you couldn’t find me if you tried.

I took the whole day off for fly fishing. For more than 7 hours, I was waist-deep in the Harpeth river, casting a line over and over again into the water, breathing in the beauty of the Tennessee countryside, and talking about Jesus with a friend.

At some point during our excursion, I realized something.

Fishing was the most Christlike thing I’d done all week.

When he wasn’t healing the sick, preaching to the masses, or hanging out with Tax Collectors, Jesus could usually be found fishing.

Most of his disciples were fishermen. And their fathers before them were fishermen as well. Generations of their families could be found on the water, casting nets into the sea, day in and day out.

So in between Jesus’ messianic work, he was usually in the boat with his disciples, fishing as well.

Something about fishing

There’s something special about fishing.

When you’re out in the water, you’re away from the needs of the world. There’s no one to respond to and no fires to put out. You’re all alone moving quietly through creation’s beauty, rhythmically casting a line.

You have nothing but space to think, pray, talk, and meditate.

By disrupting your daily pace, you give yourself space to encounter God.

You give yourself a chance to breathe a deep refreshing breath with every step down the river, and a new chance to ponder the goodness of God in the land of the living.

There’s just something about fishing.

Where’s your Galilee?

It doesn’t have to be literal fishing but I can’t help but wonder….

What would happen if we all tried to get out of our normal routines and into beauty more? If we made a regular effort to step away from our screens, from our daily workflows, and—like Jesus with his disciples—found our own Galilean seas to get in the middle of.

My hunch is that by doing this we’d all find ourselves living a little lighter, a little freer, and a little more like Jesus of Nazareth.

What do you think?