Migratory Urges

Tomorrow begins the annual fishing haaj to the NC Outer Banks. This year's crew is noticably thinner than the past several years. The older fellows are starting to die off, and the younger fellows are busy.

I am glad to be going, but it hasn't always been so. The first year I went I got so frustrated. There were all these men I didn't know that well and I felt like I had to prove my manhood to them by being proficient at catching fish. Those of you who have fished on the surf know that surf fishing is completely different than pond or river fishing. The same rules just don't apply. So I was pretty frustrated. I wasn't catching fish, my line wouldn't stay down and kept getting tangled in everyone else's lines and to make matters worse, they were catching fish and I wasn't even getting a bite!

My frustration kept mounting until one of the men that I knew pretty well pulled me alongside. His son was there and was feeling some of the same pressure I was. Charles told me, "You know, I told Jeff that the whole reason I come out here is just to hang out with these fellows. If I catch fish, it is just a bonus." Well, those may not be his exact words, but it was something along those lines. It helped me to realize that there wasn't a competition and that I could just relax and enjoy being there. Oddly enough, I did relax and began to catch fish.

How many times in our lives do we let a performance mentality ruin the moment? How often do we let it set unrealistic expectations that end up leaving us feeling disappointed and unfulfilled? I can't count the number of times that I tried so hard not to fail that I ended up doing that exact thing.

It is the same with the Christian walk. We will never walk successfully when we are trying to follow some regimen or stand up to someone's perforance guidelines. This is why Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." By our effort we will never be holy and we will never be more worthy to God. It is His grace that produces sanctification - not our human righteousness.

I know some people now that are so afraid of failing and disappointing God that they are pharisaicly trying to maintain a "Christian" law and are failing at it. The problem is that the law always brings death and failure. Human flesh (fallen human flesh, that is) simply cannot live in holiness by adherance to the law. It is only by living life by the Spirit of God that we are able to achieve holiness - it is a free gift so none can boast.

As we learn to relax and allow the Spirit of God to live through us, we will find that we start to succeed!

So, back to fishing. I am looking forward to our annual migration. It will be a good time spent with my dad and my grandfather and the other men who have become familiar over the past few years. I will get to sit on the beach and smell the salty sea air, watch dolphins and whales swimming beyond the breakers, maybe get a little sun, and maybe, just maybe, catch a few fish. Fish or no fish it is going to be a great trip.