For some reason or another, I find enjoyment in watching The Deadliest Catch,a series on the Discovery Channel. The amazing thing about it is that the show is just about a bunch of guys on their boats catching crabs,but that's where the difference also comes in. Yes, these guys catch crabs but they catch monster crabs, the giant Alaska King Crab whose legs can grow to about 3 feet long. Their work environment? the deadly Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska,where treacherous storms are the rule not the exception, where temperatures can drop several degrees below freezing.Each episode of the show features how they battle with the elements and with each other, just to earn their keeps. It's a rough world, no holds barred and this show is what makes reality TV watchable.
Then I read a wonderful book called Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and sort of realized why I like the show. You see, the show is about men in their element. Men being men. No flashy cars and fancy suits, no wimpy pushovers, no faces that seem to come straight from the pages of GQ. These are men who are at their best being men. I suppose that deep down inside, there's that yearning to be like those fishermen in the show, rugged and not having to put on a mask to prove they are men. See, what Eldredge said in his book is that men have got that wild streak, it's just the nature of men. You know, slay the dragon, save the damsel in distress and yes, live passionately for God. Men have got that built in wildness that came straight from the Father. When this manliness is lost, a man creates a false self, just to get the approval from those around him that he is indeed a man. But when a man realizes his potential, and lives it to the fullest according to what God ordained, God's plan and purpose is fulfilled.
Now at this point, some would say that this is a male chauvinist message. I beg to disagree. Let's not take anything away from women, they aren't the weaker or lesser gender. They also carry the fullness of the image of God, if I may borrow Eldredge's words. Women are just designed differently. You don't see young girls running around playing horsie horsie or trying to slam their playmates to the ground like a piledriver. Leave that to the boys.
It's the young boys whose first impulse it is to take a stick and make believe he's part of the 101st Airborne, storming Nazi-occupied France. Maybe that stick is the sword of Zorro, or an MP5 held by an elite member of the Hostage Rescue Team. It's this wild, restless spirit that God calls to achieve great things for Him. It's this wild heart that is often neutered at some point in the growing years. Prince Valiant is supposed to be blazing new ground for God but somewhere along the way, he lost his drive. Fast forward a few years, and see whether Prince Valiant is still there, standing his ground for God, or just plodding along in survival mode just to get through another day. Did the fire to be used mightily for the glory of God die out or burn stronger as the years went by?
As I see the fishermen of the Bering Sea rake in their haul in giant thousand-pound cages, my mind races back to a different set of fishermen. This set had their weather-beaten faces, calloused hands and strong spirits as well. One particular day, the catch was not there until a stranger told them to cast their nets again. This time, the haul was to the point that their nets almost broke. They were doing what they knew they did best, until God called them to do what they were supposed to do. That one act ofobedience changed the course of human history forever as Peter and his men obeyed the command sent by Jesus. Still, they didn't fulfill their call to the fullest at first. When word that their master had died, they fled, and went back to what they did before. They returned to the comfort and familiarity, and forgot the call of risk and adventure in proclaiming and fulfilling God's plan. One day, while they were back to doing the familiar, the same stranger (to them) once again asked them to cast their nets with the same result. Only this time, they realized what they needed to do, and the fishermen from Galilee became the mighty warriors of God whose message still remains with us today. As you ponder on what you need to do, the question that begs to be answered now is this: Will you continue to do what you do, or do the thing God called you to do?
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