Casting Your Net: Eternal Things By

Larry D. Mason

© Casting Your Net: Eternal Things Copyright © 2010 Larry D. Mason

Summary: This book addresses the issues of life, death, and what constitutes the basis of individual faith. The question of faith perplexes the Christian and the non-Christian alike. For example, Faith is much more than a word; it is a systematic “set of beliefs” that governs your perspective, persuasion, principles, and your life in general. This book is a thought-provoking commentary interweaving personal experience and biblical truths. This book is real-life-experiences of my journey; addressing such issues as maturity in faith; money and possessions; selfishness; disobedience and denial; and the question about death and what lies beyond. Interpretation and inflection of thought is typically what you have been taught to “think” by the atmosphere in which you were raised as a child, subsequently reinforced by culture, folklore, and mysticism. Okay, that’s enough human psychology for now, or is it? Try as you may, there is no escaping the psychological impact of what your family has taught you to believe! However, this gives us pause to question what we believe and whether or not “familial” theologies have scriptural precedence! Perhaps you are casting your net towards pleasure and self-gratification, attempting to satiate primordial instincts. Do not be surprised when you reach your personal place of nothingness. This is a place where you have exhausted your carnality while existing in a state of spiritual starvation. So, how do you determine your measure of faith? Let’s suppose you’re not Christian, but find yourself standing at the proverbial crossroad of faith. You have questions, doubts, and entertain the notion of dismissing the entire concept of faith. But, there is the nagging question about death and what lies beyond. You are confounded with the haunting aspect of death and can not seem to find your measure of faith. Always, it begs the question: “what do I do now?” You have exhausted all of the suggestions offered by your friends and even family theologies fail in determining your measure of faith. You’re thinking I’m not sure what I believe and why I believe; because I have never, personally, answered the question: “Who was Christ?”

Forward After completing a bible study at church, Men’s Fraternity by Robert Lewis, The Quest for Authentic Manhood, I was moved and tormented by one of the questions set forth in our final homework assignment: Manhood Plan. The question is simple and straightforward to the point whereby it begs a form of introspection. You know that inward probe within the deep recesses of your heart; the private place unattended by even your closest friend or spouse. The private place that is reserved for only you and what you inwardly think, but never spoken aloud. At first glance, the question seems simple enough and relatively easy to answer. However, when you contemplate your personal epitaph, it will give you occasion to pause. So, have you contemplated your epitaph? Have you ever attempted to write your epitaph? Try it, you may find it to be more difficult than you think. At any rate, here is the question that begs your ultimate introspection, makes you reflect upon your life, and most likely will impassion the balance of your earthly life. “How do I want to be remembered by those who knew me?”1 As someone who embraced the fullness of life, who saw life as a gift from the Almighty to be shared with others. A man who made others laugh, while encouraging, empathizing, and edifying them each step of the journey. As a man of faith, willing to share his beliefs in a caring way without condescending those who disagreed with him. To be remembered as one willing to help others in need without being judgmental to the circumstances of that need. To be remembered as a passionate man but not a man out of control of his desires and wants. To be remembered as a Christian man, not unlike the apostle Peter who loved Christ but also failed Christ in his humanity. When we look at the gospel record of Peter, we identify with his human fragility. We see ourselves, vicariously, enacting the role of Peter. Sometimes he is the hero: as exhibited in the garden of Gethsemane, the first to defend Christ against His arrest; Peter with his impetuous desire to step out of the boat onto the water; and the villain in his failure of denying the Lord in spite of his boast, “I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” And, yes like Peter, we fail in our commitment to the Lord of Hosts. We are just as fallible as Peter, but remember the Lord did choose him as an example for the posterity of His church. Perhaps it is the zeal of Peter and his passion for life that God loves in all of us who dare to emulate the likeness of Christ in spite of our constant blunderings. 1

The Quest for Authentic Manhood, by Robert Lewis, Lifeway Press®, Seventh Printing 2007, pp. 95

In the end we are human, the “Creature” of creation that God so dearly loves. In our futile attempt of denying our own passion, Christ is much more than our moping around in a “stoic” disposition being devoid of passion and zest wearing a frown of discontent saying: “Look at me I am Christian, don’t you want to be one, too?” No! Christ loves us for our passion and zest of life, in spite of our shortcomings. By bridling our passion and zest under his Lordship we become useful vessels within the body of Christ. Listen closely and you will hear the beckoning voice as it echoes down through the ages: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Now, as I answer the question and finish my epitaph I am compelled to reflect upon what Christ means with the expression: “fishers of men.” Over the years I have heard this expression numerous times including Sunday school lessons, sermons, and even on occasional whims. The expression begs the question as follows: am I a fisher of men; have I ever been a fisher of men; and, more importantly, do I want to be a fisher of men? This book is dedicated to my beloved friend, George. He was my best friend; and not mine alone but, to everyone who knew him – loved him. He understood the matters of life in a compassionate way and could capture your heart with a smile. Without ulterior motive, George was the greatest fisher of men that I have ever witnessed in life. Even in death, he manifests the very theme of this book with the engraving found upon the backside of his tombstone with the words of Christ: John 15 (KJV) “5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Larry D. Mason

Contents I.

II.

III.

IV.

What am I Trying to Catch? 09 •

Lures.......................................10

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Me, myself, and I....................21

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A Step of Faith........................28

Stumbling Blocks

37

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Money and Possessions..........38

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Self-Indulgence.......................52

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The Stuff of Life.....................61

Fishes: great and small

68

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Famous Quests........................70

•

The One that Got-Away..........79

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The Greatest Catch..................89

Empty nets

99

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Cynicism.................................100

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Deceit and Lies.......................107

•

From Here to Eternity.............116

Partial Excerpt from Book:

III. Fishes: great and small........ From the story of Jonas in the bible to the tales of Moby Dick, we envision the great fish with ease. Apparently, size is important to our imagination and we falsely associate the idea of worth with any given size. Size captures the imagination and, often times, blinds our judgment. Why? To the human mind, any thing that is larger than a person is domineering in our mind and often intimidates us. For example, the ocean is a domineering place when you stand on a beach and gaze towards the sea meeting the skyline. Then the notion of stellar space and beyond that, which we can not even see with telescopes, overwhelms the human mind. Most people with a high school education understand the concept of earth, sun, and our solar system. However, once you go beyond this realm you will be hard-pressed to find few individuals who grasp the concept of the Milky Way galaxy, billions of other galaxies, stars, and the fabric of time and space. Why? It’s simple – overwhelming! Too often we dismiss the small things, in life, as being insignificant having no worth. Often times we dismiss the small fish, like fly-fishing for pan fish, in that we catch and release these items as routine. We tend to forget the purpose for which we set-out to accomplish any given task. What about the “fun” aspect of the task, does this matter? I tell you from personal experience; casting a fly-line is almost as much fun as catching the fish! So, don’t be overwhelmed with the size of any given thing associating false value with larger and dismissing the small. Do “not” downplay the significance of the small fish as diminutive without great value. Always, thinking the greatest catch is yet to come. You know, the great trophy we anticipate hanging on the wall. Don’t forget to have a little fun along the way!

• Famous quests What is your most famous quest and what happened during the process. As I reminisce about famous quests, a certain business deal comes to mind. During the eighties I was employed by a Swedish company as a regional manager of sales. The vice-president of our division, USA, diligently pursued and successfully sold one of our products to Ford Motor. However, there was just one stipulation. Our company had to be certified as a Q1 supplier. So, our company was adamant about becoming a Q-1 supplier to Ford Auto Industry. Our company was relatively small and rather than building our base as a Q-1 supplier, the company went fishing. You guessed correctly, fishing for a Q-1 supplier already in bed with Ford Motor. After the initial acquisition, everything seemed okay at first. However, some months into the merger disagreements became arguments, arguments became explosive giving way to people resigning. After the vice-president resigned, we knew our days were numbered. Jokingly at the time, I made a comment about the acquisition of the Q-1 supplier that subsequently became a proverbial truth: “our company went fishing and guess what – we caught the fish that ate our boat!” It seems funny, now that I am writing a book about fishers of men and I distinctly remember the entire episode as if it was yesterday. Well, maybe we, in that company setting, would have been better served if that fish had gotten away. After resigning from this company, I joined forces with a small group, which included the promise of the vice-president who originally began the USA division of the former company, with the alluring promise of success and fortune. The small group was a microcosm of the larger company and possessed much potential. Within the first year we had substantial sales and things appeared okay. However, the former vice-president became ill with health issues and shortly thereafter lost a battle with cancer, succumbing to death. For various reasons, invoices were not paid which led to vendors being unpaid, which led to interrupted supply of materials, leading to loss production within the customer base, consequently the company faltered with the loss of sales. Well, this was one of my famous quests. Lots of people have a story about some business quest that didn’t work out. How about you, are you one of these people? When you are attempting to pursue some famous quest don’t forget to include this very simple idea in your equation, motive. Most of the time, we are blinded by our avaricious nature when pursuing some famous quest. We submerge the motive on the front end of our quest fantasizing

the task as something great and noble. Noble in that the quest is worthy of my expertise and will surely fail unless I participate. The faulty thought that no one person is as capable as me in this task. A form of self-hypnosis convinces me that this quest is noble, I’m capable, the time is now, the circumstances dictate action, people will benefit from this quest, and I will be happy in my pursuit. Sounds very good, right? What about your motive? You may hide your motive on the front end of any famous quest, but motive is the non-verbal counselor which constantly reminds you why you are doing a certain thing. In attempting to betray your motive you will become disillusioned with the task-at-hand. You will no longer perceive the famous quest as noble but merely as a form of drudgery. The sparkling allurement, you once entertained, of the famous quest is lost, gone, vanished. How did this happen? Simply speaking, you did not come to terms with your real motive. Our human nature is avaricious and you learn greed from childhood; even when you receive your first piece of chocolate. Do you really want to share the things you possess? Coming to terms with your avaricious nature will stave-off many disappointments in pursuing famous quests. Why? Once you realize this nature you will readily identify the old nemesis of your most common motive – being a soldier of fortune. Do you remember the teachings of Jesus about giving? Some of these teachings are contrary to human nature. For example, the idea of giving something instead of receiving something as being a form of blessing is alien to us. What? How can this be true? Acts 20:35 (KJV) ............and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 2 As a parent, we understand this axiom of truth when it comes to giving to our children. When you present a gift to a child you experience great pleasure. One of the reasons for the blessing is the spirit of giving: no ulterior motive; no expectation of exchange; and no discussion about cost. If we could only learn to give every gift with the same spirit of giving, as if, to a child we could experience a form of this blessing. What about giving or letting-go of the things we possess and hold dear to our concept of worth and value? Is it possible to experience the axiom of truth that Jesus describes here with our most valuable possessions? This idea of “giving” reminds me of the story of the monkey who reaches his hand through an accommodating hole in order to grasp a banana. The monkey can see the 2

The Holy Bible, King James Version

banana and consequently latches on tightly. However, this creates a conundrum of sorts for the monkey. The size of the hole will accommodate his hand “only” when it’s empty. He can reach his empty hand through the hole and grab the banana; but can not partake of the fruit in his hand while holding onto the banana. I wonder, is this why we can not experience the axiom of truth about giving? We are blinded by our possessions, clenching ever so tightly our stuff. Having a false sense of worth and intrinsic value concerning inanimate objects; not realizing we must let go of these things in order to receive the true blessings! Oftentimes we are tested by God in the simplest of ways and then occasionally we are tested with our most “prized” possession. What is your most prized possession and why do you place such emphasis upon this inanimate object? Typically this test will center on your life’s work and/or possession of something of extraordinary value. I believe this is our ultimate test of loyalty and devotion to God and can be scripturally traced to the question that Jesus asks Peter on the Sea of Galilee post resurrection. Do you remember the question concerning love and devotion? John 21 (KJV) 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. 3 Do you remember the story of Peter and the other disciples who had been fishing most of the night to no avail? And then at the instruction of Jesus they haul-in an incredible catch of fish. This entire event is more than coincidental, but rather educational to every believer who perceives this truth. In this passage of scripture, the word “these” is used in a symbolic way. The word “these” may very well represent any and/or every item which you deem to be of worth and value in your life. You must determine in advance what constitutes your most prized possessions; you call “these.” Don’t be surprised when the Lord asks you “lovest thou me more than these?” This Book is available for purchase on the Barnes & Noble website found below: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/casting-your-net-larry-d-mason/1021022357? ean=9781427646156&itm=4&usri=casting+your+net

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