“Love is Patient…” 1 Corinthians 13:4

There’s a quirky and fun little Robert Altman film called “Cookie’s Fortune” that I love to revisit from time to time. With a cast like Charles Dutton, Courtney Vance, Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler and Chris O’Donnell, its worth a look. In the film, an older man named Willis is falsely accused of murder and is pampered by his friends as he sits in a small town jail while the “investigation” unfolds. The deputy sheriff continually tells the District Attorney that the man is innocent. The DA asks, “How could you possibly know that?” The Sheriff answers, “because, I’ve fished with him.” Indeed, you learn a lot about people when you fish with them, usually because there are very long stretches with very little action. You actually take the time to get to know someone without distraction. Translation, fishing is all about patience and understanding.

Jesus Is A Fisherman

When Jesus said to his friends, “I will make you fishers of men” there was a depth of meaning in those words that his friends, also fishermen, fully understood. For just as Jesus is patience with our many times wandering and wayward life, so too He is asking us to be patient with those around us. Spend some quality time with people and it will become hard for you not to love them.