Mend the nets

Hello from the lovely (and remote) Camp Tadmor. The wifi’s not working so I’m thumbing out these thoughts on my phone and while I’m tempted to apologize for the brevity, it strikes me that you’re probably grateful for a refreshingly short tidbit today, as I’m usually a bit long-winded. 🙂 just an hour ago I said goodbye to my littles and my man, his myself in my room, and cried my eyes out. I hate leaving them, always, I miss them so much.

But I’m here and right HERE is where He, the Father, has me, and what am I doing?

Mending nets.

I have the joy of teaching on Courageous Community, the call to be ONE as Jesus prayed we would be in John 17, and as I’ve prayed and prepared for this, I keep seeing this picture of mending nets.

I spent the week on Lake Foster and thought a bit about fishing. We mostly fish with hooks, for fun, but Jesus’ disciples, true fishermen by trade, fished with nets.

And Jesus calls us fishers of men.

We are called to catch people with the power and love of Jesus Christ and gather them into the fabulous family if God. This is our vocation, all of us, together.

But sadly, often our nets are torn.

Every broken relationship, every division, every unforgiveness, each one snaps a single cord in the net. Add those all up and you have a ratty, ineffective net that’s not much use at all.

But how do we mend nets?

One string at a time. Each broken cord must be repaired, reconnected.

Reconnected one by one.

Large-scale moves of unity are only as effective as our small-scale acts of reconciliation, forgiveness, kindness, grace.

One at a time we mend Christian Community’s ragged net.

Who can you reconnect with today? Who can you pursue? Forgive? Prefer? Who can you love?

Whether someone in your home, your work, your present or your past, consider this weekend how you can mend nets, one relationship at a time, so we can fish hearts for the glory of God.

{happy weekend; thanks for reading.}