“He is your friend who pushes you closer to God.” Abraham Kuyper

You are an experienced boat person. You know the lake – its different types of wind, times of days to be on it, and fishing conditions.

You’re bored. You’ve got to do something. So, you go fishing and a number of your buddies, some who know the lake as well as you, decide to tag along. After fishing all night and coming up empty, you head for the dock.

As the sun rises, you hear a voice. You can’t make out who’s saying, “Cast out one more time over the right side of the boat.”

What do you and the boys do? You know the most opportune time to fish has passed. There’s no chance of catching anything.

Yet, you are friends. If one wants to, you all go for it. They do. They did. And you know the rest of the story. It was Jesus doing the calling.

The Psalmist writes, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” This means to go in the same direction as one group.

Becoming like Jesus isn’t easy, especially by yourself. This process requires going against what you think, feel and, at times, believe in the moment the Spirit calls you closer to Jesus.

This is due to the fact that you only know what you know when you know it and can’t know something new until you are exposed to it. The guys knew the lake; yet they would have missed the catch without each other agreeing to try one more time.

Having others going in the same direction is important. Some will have different journeys toward Jesus than yours. Yet, you all are becoming more like Jesus. The Spirit can use this to encourage each other to keep going because you’ve seen Jesus come through in the past.

Growth is about having the right Christian friends. It’s those who can and will think through what each is hearing through a biblical filter. Is what we are hearing something God could be saying? If not, why keep fishing? If so, why not keep fishing?

Christian friends push each other toward Jesus to keep fishing.