Read: Luke 5:1-11
"Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." (v. 10)
It happened in a Sunday school class at a church in Iowa. More than one heard the call of Jesus through the words of the teacher. As the 1940s came to a close, one young man answered the call to go "fishing" for Jesus in Japan. Sixty years later he is still there.
Missionary Ronald Korver invites my family of six into his home in the hills overlooking Zushi beach in Japan. With his wife Ruby they share their story of serving the Lord in a land where the church has been slow to grow. And yet, their faithfulness is evident in the lives of the people in Kamakura, where they continue to share the gospel in word and deed.
Eugene Peterson writes that discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction. Ron and Ruby have been on one long fishing trip. Their wise, patient, and diligent work is reaping a harvest of joy-filled saints who today call Christ their Lord.
Mentoring teens might seem a fruitless task. Serving Christ in a difficult land may seem a tiresome toil. But take heart, faithful servant. The joy of harvest will one day come.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for inviting us into the joy of being your disciples. Help us to be faithful to the work today and patient for the fruit tomorrow.
Used with Permission
