This Fishing Trip Had the Shadow of Death Hanging Over It

My wife Annette’s family always loved fishing. Several years ago, her parents (Ron and Helene) treated her to an absolutely spectacular week at Bolton Lake, a fly-in fishing camp in northern Manitoba, Canada. Getting there involves a one-and-a-half hour flight from Winnipeg in a 20-seat plane to cover the 300 miles from that city. This place is so remote that satellite phones provide the only connection with the outside world. And forget about the Internet.

However, the payoff is huge. Anglers who make the trek are virtually guaranteed to bag several trophy-sized fish. This picture shows one of Annette’s. And, no, it’s not Photo Shopped.

Besides Annette and her parents, their party of twelve included several of her parents’ church friends. Although there were some younger people in the group, they were balanced out by the older folks who brought the average age to somewhere in the Medicare range.  The youngest participants were a businessman in his 40s and his ten-year-old son.

Before they booked the trip, Annette’s parents thought long and hard about the risks. Ron was in his 70s and, since he had been a World War 2 POW, he had lingering health issues. Also, he had been hospitalized a few times in the years right before the trip. The remoteness of the fishing camp was a concern, not only for Ron but also for the other elderly participants. The shadow of death truly hovered over this group.

Fortunately, there were no medical incidents, and the trip was such a success that they made it an annual event.

However, a few years after the initial outing, Ron and Helene called us with the news that someone from the first trip had died suddenly. Was it one of the church friends in their 70s? Was it one of the slightly younger but exercise-averse people? It turns out it was the businessman in his 40s who had collapsed while playing tennis. Of all the participants, he was the last one anyone would have expected to die.

This incident highlights the uncertainty of life.

Some evangelists and Christian speakers try to fearmonger their crowds, literally attempting to scare the hell out of them by milking, for all its worth, the idea of sudden death. Manipulation is never appropriate and should be rejected.

Having said that, none of us really knows what any given day will hold. Just this week, six road crew workers lost their lives when a cargo ship crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, plunging them to their deaths. As they left for work that day, none of them could have imagined what awaited them.  

I don’t want to get anywhere near the inappropriate tactics of some overzealous evangelists, but I do want to remind you about what the Bible says about the unfortunate human condition and what God has done to remedy our problem.

God loves us and created us to be in relationship with him. Unfortunately, our sin – either outward rebellion against God or indifference toward him – has separated us from him.

But the good news is that he has made a way to overcome the spiritual death resulting from our sin. Jesus – who is God, the second person of the Trinity – took on himself the penalty we deserve by his death and physical resurrection which we are celebrating this weekend. That forgiveness is available to anyone who recognizes their need, asks to have Jesus’ forgiveness count for them, and commits to making him their Lord. If someone refuses this option and continues in their sin, their choice to live apart from God becomes permanent once they leave this world.

Let me also point out that, beyond all his comforting teachings, Jesus had a lot to say about hell. By my count, nearly half his 40 parables can be considered parables of judgment, where some people or groups are ushered into God’s kingdom and others are relegated to eternal separation from him. Rather than avoid the topic of hell, Jesus seems to go out of his way to bring it up, often injecting it into conversations on completely different topics.

In today’s world, it’s popular to focus on the “nice” parts of Jesus’ teaching about loving our neighbor and not judging others. However, we ignore his complete message at our own peril. What better time than Easter weekend to bring up the reality of Jesus’ provision to rescue us from eternal separation from God? So, I ask you, where do you stand in relation to Jesus, God’s only provision for our sin?

The Best Way to Get Someone to Change Their Ways

As we dove into our burgers and fries, my friend Chase and I were getting caught up after not having seen each other for a few months. He had been in our Friday morning men’s group but had to pull back because of a job change, other work pressures, a move to a new house, and the demands generated by a very active household.

Covid compounded the problem by halting both the men’s group’s and out church’s in-person meetings. Even though our church is now back in full swing, because Chase’s family includes high Covid-risk individuals, his family continues to stream the services instead of attending in person.

When Chase admitted feeling somewhat isolated, I commented, “You really need to get more involved with other Christians again.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I paused and said, “Let me rephrase that: ‘Getting together in person with others is really important, and I don’t want you to miss out on what that can do for you.’”

The reason I revised my suggestion was that I had just concluded my blog series from a couple of months ago on legalism. That series was motivated by a TV sermon where the pastor – who typically imparts rule after rule after rule – was adding to his long “you must” list. My comment to Chase made me realize I was sounding a bit like the heavy-handed pastor, something I certainly didn’t want to do.

I wanted Chase to fully experience the joys of getting together with other believers to both give and receive encouragement, to grow in his faith, and to maximize his spiritual leadership of his family. I honestly didn’t want him to miss out on that.

Pointing a boney finger at someone makes them feel that you’re trying to “fix” them. By contrast, painting an enticing picture of what can be and then inviting the other person to step into that is far more attractive.

Isn’t that exactly what Jesus did as he likened life in the kingdom to the joy of finding a buried treasure or an extremely valuable pearl? He also promised rest for the weary and relief from the burdens of life. Of course, he was brutal to the religious leaders who were adding legalistic burdens to their converts, making them “twice as much a child of hell as you are yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). But the fact that he attracted so many “outcasts” testifies to the effectiveness of his positive message of grace and love, and the need to be forgiven and changed. The “I don’t want you to miss out” approach is far more likely to win over someone’s heart than is the “beat someone into submission” method.

There are a few caveats, though:

·       Just because your approach is gentle, you mustn’t throw out God’s standards or condone sin. God calls us to lifestyles that reflect his holy nature.

·       This approach is most effective with people with whom you have a decent relationship. It’s far harder when you are estranged from someone. But even then, trying to communicate that you want the best for the other person never hurts.

·       Parents often have to be more heavy-handed with their children than they can be with peers and colleagues. But even when you must lower the boom, it’s most helpful if you can convey that your motivation is wanting the best for your child, not making their lives miserable.

·       Sometimes tough love is necessary, especially if the other person suffers from addiction or some other major dysfunction.

So, next time you encourage someone to make a change, consider how you can communicate that your primary motive is wanting them to not miss out on all God has for them.