“If you where on our list then you where not spam we where simply letting people know on our mailing list that we had to do this because of our email company made us but since you are a jack ass we are glad not to have you I wish I could have been nicer with a reply but your email left me no choice

Sent from my iPhone”

Nice eh? Now that’s customer service!

We’re going through the book of Luke at Ecclesia, and this week we covered Luke 5:1-11.  Ryan spoke specifically about a miracle performed (the catch of an incredible number of fish, enough to nearly sink 2 boats) and the response of the soon-to-be disciples. I won’t go over much of that at this point – you should be able to listen to the podcast at www.ecclesianewnan.org soon, assuming I didn’t screw up the recording.  What I want to talk about is something that occurred to me as we were reading the passage.  I do need to cover some of the background though.

And when he [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”  And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!  But at your word I will let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.  They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”  And when they had brought their boats to land,  they left everything and followed him.
- Luke 5:4-11 (ESV)

To summarize, Simon and his partners, being fishermen by trade, had been out all night fishing and had caught nothing.  Then here comes Jesus, who isn’t even a fisherman, telling them to put out their nets during the day.  They obviously had their doubts, but because they had come to respect Jesus, they did as he asked.  Because they did so, they caught an incredile number of fish.  They caught so many fish that they knew it was a miracle.  Jesus didn’t just luck out – a catch like that just doesn’t happen.  This had to be God.  Simon realized this, and knew he wasn’t worthy of such a gift – let alone be in the presence of someone who is at least  on par with Elijah and Elisha.  Jesus does not respond to Simon’s statement, but instead gives these men a new purpose.  And as soon as they reach shore, they leave behind the mounds of fish they just caught, and followed Christ.Just taking this passage at face value, we can learn a lot, and not just about the history of Jesus and the disciples.  I would love to talk about it a bit, but for the sake of staying on subject (ever a challenge for me), I’ll move directly to my point.  In brief, it is this: We “fish,” but it is Christ who provides the catch.

Growing up in the church, I’ve heard about being “fishers of men” all my life.  I didn’t have much context in my mind, but I knew we were supposed to reach people.  I guess a lot of other people also miss the context, because you don’t have to look hard to see people trying out all kinds of bait, trying to catch people.  I think they missed a massive, if subtle, point the text – Christ provided the fish.  Remember, Christ told them they would catch men immediately after they nearly sank their boats with hordes and hordes of fish!  Think about it from their perspective – they just experienced Christ providing a catch beyond their wildest dreams, and then he tells them they will be fishing for men from now on.  Do you think they started thinking about what bait to use, what time of day they should “fish,” or how much work it would be?  No, I believe it to be a safe assumption that when Jesus told them they would be catching men, they immediately thought of the fish they just caught – the fish that Jesus / God has so obviously provided.

What it all boils down to is this:  Christ told them to fish.  They could well have said “No thanks, we’ve had enough failure for today,” and blown it off.  And if they had done so, they would have missed out, to say the least.  But because of their obedience, Christ provided the catch.  In the same way, we follow Christ by being “fishers of men.”  It’s not our efforts that bring the hearts of men to Christ, nor is it a result of our ideas, our tracts, or our programs.  It is solely through the provision of Christ that we are successful in his mission.  To make a long story short (yet again), if we obey and put out our nets when he tells us to, he’ll take care of the rest.  Sure, there is work involved on our part, but the hardest part of the work is obedience.

I’m keeping this update brief, so that I can post my fairly unrelated writing.  I may continue updating this site, but my goal is do have wordpress running on my own site, but its not up yet.  So until then, keep checking up on clayosophy.wordpress.com !

It’s important for me to keep in mind the reason I was applying to law school in the first place.  With the frustration of not being admitted this last year, I lost sight of that.  Ultimately, I began the process because I felt it was what God was leading me toward.  He had really impressed upon me His heart for justice and meeting the needs of others.  At the time, I was very focused on IJM (which could be a post in and of itself), and law was their tool in their ministry.  I feel I would be well suited to law, and felt that was the direction I should go.  Law didn’t work out.  IJM didn’t work out.  Yet I do not think that it’s over.  I think one  reason things did not work out as I expected or wanted was that I had the wrong attitude.  I was focused on my abilities, my plans, my life, all when I should have been focused on God’s plan and work.  That will become the new focus of my life, and consequently, of this blog.

It’s pretty frustrating, waiting on a school that already takes an inordinate amount of time to get responses to applicants.  Their estimated response date was April 15, a full 11.5 weeks after the application was due.  Now we’re at the 12.5 week mark, getting close to 13.   I’m trying to arrange housing and possibly a part time job for school in the fall… but its impossible to make plans when I don’t even know for sure I’ll be accepted.  I’m certainly not putting down a deposit for an apartment or anything.  They’re delay on an already excessively long decision process just makes the whole process that much harder, that much more stressful.  But that’s ok, I’m done complaining.  As I said before, if law school doesn’t work out for this fall, its not the end of the world.  It’s just the stress of not knowing that’s getting to me.

My immediate though was to take the ability where it is needed most, can “do the most good.” As such, I was thinking of a large city, where the need was more… dense I suppose. Efficiency! I don’t know what gives me that attitude. Is it culture? Society? The needs of the greater outweigh the needs of the few. That seems to be the idea ultimately that shaped what was my initial reaction. How true is it though? What makes the needs of the many of more value than the needs of a small community? Do their needs matter less because they have less? I don’t think so. Which is not to say that there are not times to go to the needs of the many. I just don’t think it’s a given, an absolute, as was my initial reaction.

Think about it yourself. Which would you choose? And why? We can learn a lot about ourselves asking questions of ourselves.

In meeting these needs, IJM has a four-fold purpose: Immediate relief for the victim, Accountability for the perpetrator, Aftercare for the victim, and structural change for the system that made the abuse possible. With these four goals, IJM strives to not only remove a victim from their situation, but also provide for the victim’s recovery and transition back to life. They work to make others who may abuse the helpless or consider abuse think twice about their actions and the consequences, thereby reducing the perceived benefit to those who are exploiting the victims. Finally, IJM seeks to strengthen the legal system already in place enabling the local police and courts to better react, contain, and prosecute abuse, without the need for international intervention.

When I discovered IJM, I immediately knew that this was the work I wanted to do. If I am able to work directly with IJM, that would be great, but it is hardly a requirement. I guess they have already done their real job as far as I’m concerned… Opened my eyes, and inspired me. Whether I am able to travel internationally fighting human trafficking and slavery, or if I “only” stay in the US fighting abuses locally, I know I will be doing the right thing, and will be content (though I will probably be a bit disappointed… I love travel). Yes, it goes on in the US. All of it. Slavery exists in the States. No, it isn’t the classic White-Owning-Black slavery, but is more likely immigrants or the homeless, those society “won’t miss.” Human trafficking exists in the States. It could be the promise of a smuggler to get them across the border, and then not letting them go their way, or it could be kidnapping and forcing people into prostitution, or “rape for profit,” as is a more accurate term. Yes, it is here in the US. In fact, Atlanta is supposedly one of trafficking hubs for the US, so I hardly have to go international to work the field.