“Which Kind Of Fish Are You…?”

“Which Kind Of Fish Are You…?”(Mt.13:47-52).
When in October,1994 I joined Rev. Dr. I. S. Elangwe in Yaounde,. to work in Etoug-Ebe(now Nsimeyong), he told me, “George, our duty is to first bring back in all the anglophone Christians who for many years have not been to church. After bringing them in we can then consolidate our efforts by teaching them the core Christian values.” As a Presbyterial Secretary for the vast East Mungo presbytery at the time, this was his core evangelistic strategy. (East Mungo presbytery at the time consisted of the eight francophone provinces).
Unlike Paul whose mission was to the Gentiles, for us, our mission was to the Lost sheep of English Cameroon who were residing in French Cameroon. It is not as if we did not care for the salvation of the souls of French Cameroonians. Rather, there existed an unwritten entente among denominations not to become a nuisance to each other by avoiding duplicity. In the case of East Mungo the matter was confounded by language barrier.
Jesus came to pull down the Jewish hegemony of exclusion and to institute an all-inclusive faith orientation where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, black skin nor white skin.
Those who are called upon to proclaim the gospel must not create boundaries. Christ is without boarders!
Messengers of the gospel are like nets which the fishermen cast, and which catches all kinds of fish. When a fisherman casts his net, the net does not determine which kinds of fish and the quantity that enters it. When the fish are brought ashore, the process of selection begins. Once selection takes place, there is either acceptance or rejection.
We may wonder why evil and evil Christians are identified, yet still allowed to be Christians; sometimes playing dominant roles. It is not for us to do the selection. The farm owner says we should allow the wheat and the weeds which the enemy planted to grow together. At harvest time the weeds will be tied into bundles and burned while the wheat will be harvested and stored in barns(Mt.13:24-30).
At the end of the age “the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace…”
Those who bring the gospel to others should understand these things. Although most times we are still so dull!(Mt.15:16). We are teachers who have been instructed about the kingdom of heaven and should know better that the ways of the infallible, perfect and omniscient God cannot be fully understood by a fallible, imperfect and ignorant man!
As for you dear friend, which kind of fish are you in the net? Are you a good fish that will be selected and put in the basket or a bad fish that will be thrown away? What kind of plant are you? Are you a wheat planted by the farmer or a weed planted by the enemy? The answer is not blowing in the wind; the answer is in your decision to be or not to be! The choice is yours!
Prayer: Holy Spirit work in me so that I should enter the net as a good fish. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Prayer point: Pray that many should be responsive to the gospel.
Rev Babila Fochang.