Keep the good and throw the bad away!

Keep the good and throw the bad away! Jesus told yet another parable/story to his disciples.

This time, He told them about how the people were out catching fish and how they threw the net out and caught a lot.

There were good-sized fish in the net, quite a lot in fact, so after they dragged the net ashore and then collected all the good-sized fish into baskets, they threw all the others away.

When I was a little guy and the youngest of five siblings, we all went on holiday to a place not far from our home. A place called "Mark's Point", which was named after my Dad's Aunt, who ended up marrying one of the 'Marks' who lived pretty much on the shore of Newcastle's Lake Macquarie. hence named "Mark's Point".

It was a great spot. Right on the lakefront. Today, there are so many houses out there that it is totally unbelievable. 

I know my Mum and Dad would be totally gobsmacked to see it how it is today, but back then, when I was just a little hanger-on, I reckoned it was a magical place. There was hardly anyone there at all.

I loved it. We went swimming pretty much every day and all day, and then went out in the boat and fishing like crazy, bringing in the loot, and Mum would cook up fish platters that would feed the family every single day.

So many days I was so sea sick my dad used to put me ashore, and I toddled on home, throwing up all the way. How things have changed. There were hardly any homes there at all, and mostly they were weekenders and were only used as a breakaway from work.

When Jesus told his disciples this story, and when it was relayed to us, even when I was in Sunday School about catching fish and throwing some away, I loved it. I related to it so well.

It wasn't until I was much older that the parable told by Jesus about the people who went fishing suddenly came home to me. Some fish were great, and some were rotten. Jesus kept the good ones and threw the others out.

It was a story Jesus told, very similar to the weeds and wheat mentioned in one of my other blogs just recently. What was He trying to get through to us? Keep the good? Throw the bad?

I've been looking into it over the years, and the story that Jesus told had, again, to do with the coming judgement when Jesus will come to earth again at the very end of the world as we know it. 

The whole parables Jesus told had to do with the coming end of days and the total judgement. It can be pretty scary if you really have no desire in your life to even look at what the Bible has to say about coming to Christ and giving your life to Him. 

All sorts of people are intrigued by the gospel and by the very fact that Jesus, thousands of years ago, gave up his life. That is where the life of Jesus stops for so many people in today's world. So many people think, "Oh, I wonder why he did that?"

Well, I know why He did that. He came into this world as the eternal Son of God - sinless - homeless - perfect in every way - and so ready to take all of our sins upon His shoulders and pay the price that we would have to pay when our time comes to an end.

Some people are so willing to listen and learn about what Jesus says, but others just listen, shrug their shoulders, and think, "So what!" Some people don't want to hear any of it. They get a bit upset if you dare mention to them what the Bible is all about.

Makes me wonder why? I feel maybe their lives are filled with controversy, hurt, and guilty consciences. I have met some people who are so angry about the Word of God, and they get all carried away with you if you dare mention the Bible and the life of Christ. Some people have obviously had really bad experiences in Christian schools, churches, hostels, and hospitals.

That is hard, and I fully understand. Actually, we are all basically sinners. Born that way, and we can do absolutely nothing about being born into sin and living in a sin-filled world.

It was only that Jesus came into the world all those years ago and paid for our sins on the cross. All of us, regardless of what we have been through in this topsy-turvy world of ours, and what some people have done to us both physically and emotionally, can come to Jesus and ask him into our lives to lead and guide us to eternity.

Some people feel they are so full of sin that God will have nothing at all to do with them. Maybe they continue to sin, and they feel it is impossible to come to Christ at all. Well, I can tell you that regardless of what you have been through or what you are doing right at this moment, if you ask Christ to come into your life, he will.

Sure, things go haywire in this earthly place if ours. Actually, Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, once asked Jesus, "Is forgiving someone seven times enough?" Jesus replied,  "I do not say to you up to seven times but up to seventy times seven." 

God has no limits. God's grace abounds and abounds, and He is so willing to forgive your sin and my sin, no matter what that sin may be. Yes, where we live, we may have to pay the price if we have gone against the law, but God will forgive us.

That certainly does not mean that we have a licence to sin and keep on sinning. God knows our errors, and He knows our very weaknesses. God sent His Holy Spirit to live in our world to guide us constantly, showing us over and over again where we have tripped up.

When we fail and if we come to God and ask His forgiveness, He will forgive us in 1 John 1:9, it says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  All God is saying here is that he will forgive us if we come to him and honestly tell him our wrongs.

I John 1:9 - mentioned above - is a pretty amazing verse in the Bible. It is not only amazing but truly wonderful. We can be forgiven by God no matter what we have done. 

When you think about all the things buzzing around in our heads and in our lives, like our human and often man-made desires, our actions, which can have a multitude of horrible effects, God says, "I will forgive all of them, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness". 

Confession of sin in our lives is important! I would really encourage you to spend time in confession of your sin with God right now and ask him to lead your life.

God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.