D caught his first fish. So neat.

This weekend Beth went to D.C with 3 of her friends from college. While away, Sean (my brother-in-law) and I took the kids fishing at a local pond on Friday night. It was a great time. The excitement of the night came when Daniel caught his very first fish. It wasn't much of a catch......no seriously. The stupid fish couldn't even pull the bobber down (See pic above), instead he was caught because I thought it was time to re-bait the hook. It just so happened that there was a fish on the end of the line when I reeled it in. Anyway, when I saw that there was a fish on the end, I quickly threw the line back out and let Daniel reel it in.

Oh My God, the kid went crazy. When he got the fish all reeled in and on land, he lost his mind. I don't think I have ever seen him so excited. He started running around the lake, screaming at the top of his lungs, "I CAUGHT A FISH" it was cute and embarrassing at the same time. Everyone was looking at me like, "dude get your kid to chill out." There was no stopping him though. He was telling everyone. He had to call his momma who was in DC to tell her. Believe it or not, Daniel actually kissed the fish....on the lips. All night long he talked about this 2 inch overgrown sperm looking thing that just so happened to look like a fish on the end of his line. Honestly, the thing was pretty pathetic, I think that maybe his bait just grew a little and we thought it was a fish. But again, it wasn't about the fish to Daniel, it was the fact that he caught something.

This experience made me think a little. Does God really get this excited when one of us come to faith in him. Luke 15:10 says, "There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:7 says "there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

To God, it doesn't matter who we are, where we're from, our intelligence, strength, size, or influence; what matters is that we come to him. I wonder if God really acts as Daniel did, when one of us come to repentance and faith in him. I wonder if heaven really goes crazy like that? I can only imagine that he does. When a sinner comes to faith in Christ, his eternity is secure forever, why not throw a freakin bash?

The neatest thing about the whole situation was how clear it was to me that we are all created in the image of God. Even a little 5 year old boy portrays the creator of the universe. The excitement that Daniel had after catching a minnow, was just a reflection of his Heavenly Father's heart for us.

On Friday night I was reminded that being a fisherman is exciting, but fishing for men is where we find life.