“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into
the water and caught fish of every kind. When the net was full, they
dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates,
but threw the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at the end
of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the
righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 13:47-50
Jesus used many illustrations to give his listeners
an idea of what heaven, and the end of this age, will be like. He likely used
these methods because whatever is on the other side of the veil we call life is
not something we can truly understand while we’re living here. A couple of
weeks ago we looked at the parable of the wheat and tares, how weeds grow
alongside the wheat until harvest time, when they finally separated. In the
above passage, Jesus uses the image of many fish caught in a net and sorted
into “good” and “bad.” Not being a fisherman myself, I probably wouldn’t know
one fish from another – what are good and what are not.
God does. Obviously, He’s speaking of people in
this story, living their lives for good or bad in the time they are allowed in
this world. Just as I don’t have the eye of a fisherman to tell good from bad
fish, I am also not God. How often do we act as the angels in Jesus’
illustration, swooping into a situation and passing judgment upon the people we
meet, sorting them into one category or another? We don’t truly see the heart
of people as God does. Yes, actions may speak towards what might be there.
Words, too. Scriptures often emphasize that words we use show what’s in our
heart. This is all we usually have to go by, however. From what a person does,
what he looks like, how she acts, we pass our own judgment, sorting them into a
good crate or bad in our minds.
But this is not our job. That doesn’t mean if we
see someone acting wrongly, we shouldn’t speak up. When I was a teenager, I had
this awful heavy-metal shirt adorned with a skull and “666” on the front. Mom
hated it (it was ugly), but the significance of the imagery was pointed out to
me by Chuck Dinitto, a fellow high school student with whom I rarely spoke, but
who was well- regarded by many, myself included. He explained about the mark of
the beast and the satanic symbolism on my shirt. He then asked what might
happen if I was wearing this when Jesus returned. I never wore the shirt again,
and think back fondly to that discussion because someone took the time to
explain something he felt strongly about. He could have looked at me and passed
his own judgment, this kid is no good, he’s wearing the mark of the beast, he
loves Satan, etc, and walked away, kicked the proverbial dust from his sandals.
He didn’t. Chuck told me, out of love, what he felt I was doing wrong, assuming
I did not understand what I was wearing. I didn’t, and was grateful for his
words. Thirty-seven years later, I haven’t forgotten them.
The ocean’s a big place. Not all fish are going
to be put into the “good” crates. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to spend
eternity in the presence of the Lord. Just as I am no expert in telling good
fish from bad, I’m no judge of the hearts of people around me. All we can do is
love them, assume the best in them and pray that this attitude brings this good
out.
Prayer
Father God, you are the judge of everyone’s heart, not me. Let me see the
good in people, and not fall into the prideful sin of judging others. Let me
only let people see Your love through me. Amen.
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