Fisher of Men

Last week someone from church came up to us at coffee time and asked if we wanted to be "fishers of men".

Well my eyes lit up at that as I giggled to myself.

“Evangelists.” She clarified.

“Oh I’d prefer to be a fisher of men!” I boldly declared.

What she really wanted to know was would we wear this fishy pin and be prepared to answer any questions that might arise as to why we wore it.

A fish symbol is not new, it was first used by the early Christians as a way of identifying fellow believers. I’ve been known to wear one before so I agreed to add this new piece of jewellery to collection and have been wearing it every day since.

I’ve always liked the line in the Bible where Jesus tells the fishermen to leave their nets, follow him and he will make them “fishers of men”.

OK so I slightly twist the words to suit my own purposes, I love the idea I might “catch” a man by wearing a fish. I can always throw back any I deem to be unsuitable!

I’ve just been speaking to my brother and he is desperately trying to “catch” a new woman. He’s very active in his fishing and can tell you the pros and cons of every dating website going. He doesn’t want to be alone forever. 

Meanwhile I am plodding along, keeping my eyes open but not making any definitive moves. I hated the whole on-line dating scene, when I tried it for about five minutes.  To be honest I don’t know how I could fit dating into my life with two teenage boys. Just an excuse or reality – you decide!

But like my brother I don’t want to be alone forever either. We just have very different ways of seeing the world.

I know for a fact that my little fish pin won’t make me more attractive or increase the flow of fish/men past my door. However it does still act as a Christian symbol to show what I believe in and that I take my faith seriously. Coupled with the fact that the ring finger on my left hand is bare it shows I am available.

All very subtle but potentially a sign to the right person. These are certainly the little clues I look for.

As we approach the season of Lent I pray that wearing my fish will remind me to put all these things into proper perspective. God knows the right time for me to start a new relationship, in fact I am certain he knows who, when and where it will all happen.

So I don’t need to worry about that. 

Instead I’ll spend my time pondering what I’ll say when someone asks, “so what’s that fish for?”