Fishing for Friends 得朋友的渔夫
Dexu Xia
[Jesus said], “I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19
Today's Scripture Matthew 4:18-22
Today's Insights Christ’s calling of His disciples to follow Him was strategic. He started His public ministry when He “was about thirty years old” (Luke 3:23) and many scholars believe He ministered for approximately three years before He was crucified. During this time, He called and taught His disciples. In addition to His invitation to two sets of brothers from Galilee to join Him—Simon Peter and Andrew; James and John (Matthew 4:18-22)—He called Matthew (Levi), a tax collector: “Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them” (Luke 5:27-29). Matthew’s example of friends reaching friends is worth emulating today.
Today's Devotional Patty spent the afternoon on the banks of a local river, using her fishing pole to cast bait into the water. Having only recently moved to the area, she wasn’t hoping to catch fish; she was angling for some new friends. Her line wasn’t baited with worms or any other traditional lure. Instead, she used her heavy-duty sturgeon rod to extend packets of cookies to people who were floating down the river in rafts on a hot summer day. She used this creative way to meet her new neighbors, who all seemed to enjoy the sweet treat!
Patty went “fishing for friends” in a much more literal way than Jesus intended when He invited Peter and Andrew to walk with Him through life. The two brothers were hardworking fishermen, casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee. Jesus interrupted their labors with a call to follow Him, saying He would send them out to “fish for people” instead of fish (Matthew 4:19). He made the same invitation to two other fishermen, James and John, shortly thereafter. They all left their nets and boats immediately to journey with Jesus. Like the fishermen who became His first disciples, Christ invites us to follow Him and focus our attention on eternal matters: the spiritual lives of those with whom we interact. We can offer those around us what really satisfies—the enduring hope of life with Jesus (John 4:13-14).
Reflect & Pray
Who first shared with you about Hope in Jesus? How might you offer others the hope He provides?
Dear Jesus, please help me to become a fisher of people so that others will know You better.
（耶稣说），“来跟从我，我要叫你们得人如得鱼。”（马太福音4：19）
今日经文 马太福音 4章18-22节
今日心得 基督呼召门徒跟随他是有策略的。他“约在三十岁”时开始公开传道（路加福音 3:23），许多学者认为，在被钉十字架之前耶稣大约传了三年道。在此期间，他呼召并教导他的门徒。除了邀请两对来自加利利的兄弟，西门彼得和安得烈，雅各和约翰加入他的行列，（马太福音 4:18-22），耶稣还呼召了税吏马太，又名利未：“耶稣出去，看见一个税吏，名叫利未，坐在税关上。耶稣对他说：‘来跟从我！’利未就起来，舍弃所有的，跟从了耶稣。利未在自己家里为耶稣摆设了丰盛的筵席，有一大群税吏和别人与他们一同吃饭”（路加福音 5:27-29）。马太邀请朋友与耶稣一同吃饭的例子，值得今天的门徒效仿。
今日灵修 帕蒂在当地一条河边度过了一个下午，用她的鱼竿把鱼饵扔进水里。她最近才搬到这个地区，她并不指望钓到鱼；她只是想结交一些新朋友。她的鱼线没有用蠕虫或任何其他传统诱饵做诱饵。相反，她用她的重型鲟鱼竿向在炎热的夏日乘坐木筏顺流而下的人们分发饼干包。她用这种创造性的方式认识她的新邻居，他们似乎都很喜欢这种甜食！
帕蒂去“钓朋友”的方式比耶稣邀请彼得和安德鲁与他一起走过人生时所想的要直白得多。这两个兄弟是勤劳的渔夫，把网撒在加利利海。耶稣打断了他们的劳作，呼吁他们跟随他，说他会派他们出去“得人”而不是“得鱼”（马太福音 4:19）。不久之后，他又向另外两个渔夫，雅各和约翰发出了同样的邀请。他们都立即放下渔网和渔船，与耶稣同行。
就像成为他第一批门徒的渔夫一样，基督邀请我们跟随他，将注意力集中在永恒的事情上，就是专注在与我们互动的人们的心灵生活上。我们可以为周围的人提供真正令人满意的事物，就是与耶稣一起生活的永恒盼望（约翰福音 4:13-14）。
反思和祈祷 最初是谁与你分享了在耶稣里的盼望？你会如何向他人提供耶稣提供的希望？
亲爱的耶稣，请帮助我成为一个得人的渔夫，以便他人能更好地了解你。