When Jesus compared “catching” people to catching fish, he was referring to using a net rather than a hook.

Net fishing is completely different than hook-and-line fishing. With net fishing, you can catch many fish at the same time, whereas with hook-and-line fishing, you catch only one at a time. Net fishing is also normally done in deep waters, and from a boat.

But both styles of fishing require the fisher to be astute: You don’t just rush down to the water and wildly cast your net or hook at random; you need to fish at the right time and in the right place and with the right equipment, and you need to be PATIENT.

Patience is probably the most important factor in fishing, whether using a net or a hook. A fisher who is not patient will soon give up and not return.

Patient fishers know they will eventually succeed, if they keep at their task.

God, through Jesus, calls us to be patient fishers of men. He gives us the net, shows us how to use it, teaches us the signs of fish in the water, and gives us the boat to get to them. Then he tells us which side of the boat we should lower our net for the haul.

We bring patient willingness to this process; God brings the know-how and the means.

Do your job, and God will do his.

That’s how you catch people for the Kingdom.