The Fisherman
This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. John 17:3
The following story may be familiar, but it is worth retelling for the point it makes.
The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow-finned tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked him how long it took him to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The American then asked why he didn’t stay out longer to catch more fish.
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I’ll sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and, with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat and with the proceeds of a bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you could have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A. and eventually New York City where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But how long will this all take?”
To which the American businessman replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.”
“But then what?”
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich — you would make millions.”
“Millions… then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with you amigos.”
The above story speaks for itself. Too many people have the perspective that most of life is meant to be endured, the monotony broken up by weekends and vacation days. Life is meant to be enjoyed NOW. God offers us eternal life through Jesus right now. John 17:3 makes clear that this eternal life has as much to do with quality of life as it does with unending time. Eternal life is about living in intimate relationship with God now. There is an applicable passage found in Luke 14:15-21; I challenge you to meditate on Jesus’ words found there and to enjoy today, it is really all we have.
Blessings,
