Fishing Pole or Life-Jacket

Years ago, when I was a wee little child, I went fishing with my grandad and my brother in Arkansas in the middle of winter with snow on the ground.  We were fishing in a spot that was 30 to 50 feet deep.  At one point, I cranked in the anchor, grab my rod to sit down, expressing the exhaustion of hand cranking the anchor some 50 ft.  When I sat down, my chair had spun without me knowing, so my flop into the seat ended up with me doing a backflip into the ice-cold water.

Fortunately, I had a life-jacket on so I bobbed up to the surface.  But, my fishing pole was not so lucky, it sunk to the bottom of the lake.  After my grandad and brother stopped laughing, they managed to pull me back into the boat.  

My point in sharing this with you is this

If someone was drowning, would you throw them a fishing pole or a life vest?

I hope the answer of a life vest is obvious to you.

The scriptures this morning help to unravel something that I think our church and our society have gotten confused.  

We know and are quick to point out that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor.  This is absolutely true.  

However, the only way we can truly love our neighbor is to do so in a way that points them to Jesus.  In other words, to throw them a life-jacket instead of a fishing pole.  

A fishing pole is helpful if you are in the boat ready to catch fish or even becoming a fisher of men, but if you are drowning is a sea of sin there is only one thing you need, a life-jacket, and that is Jesus.

Jesus who rescues us from our sin, Jesus who gives us new life, Jesus who heals our sicknesses, and who frees us from the deceit of the enemy of our soul.  It is Jesus who saves, who redeems, who heals, and who forgives.  Now that is a rescue that all of humanity desperately needs.