I am so excited about January 21st. I am invited to a fly tying party. When I mentioned this to a few friends they didn’t understand that we weren’t lassoing flies but that we will be making flies for our tackle box for fly fishing. I have never been to a fly tying party before, but I started to fly fish a year ago. Fly fishing is a great challenge and though the rewards have not been plentiful I have really enjoyed the experience.
Now the fly tying is not why I am so excited. I mean it will take great dexterity and careful maneuverability of my fingers, both of which I am a bit challenged. I am so excited because it will mean I will have more flies with which I can fish. The goal is not to have the most or the best flies on the river, the goal is to have plenty of tantalizing lures to catch fish. The goal is to provide me with equipment to catch a fish or maybe even two.
Sometimes we forget the reason we do things because we forget there is a result we are after. Sometimes we get so caught up in the process we lose sight of where we are going. It is like riding on a bike trail or driving a car we forget the point can be exercise or it can be the destination, which ever the process is important because of the intended result.
Our life as a Christian operates the same way. The things we do, like bible study or prayer or go to church, are not requirements we must do to fulfill an obligation. We do these things so we can grow in our relationship to God. If you just do these things because you think you have to do them then you have lost sight of the overriding goal or result.
Sometimes these tasks are not easy, like fly tying. Sometimes these tasks are enjoyable in themselves, like a really attractive fly. But in the end we do them to grow in our faith. I hope that as you seek to know more about God and learn more about your calling as God’s child you will take up the challenge to do some of the tasks that are difficult, like praying for those who are unkind to you. Or perhaps it is difficult to take time out from your work to read the bible daily. Maybe deciding that Sunday needs to be a day worshiping with other believers first and other things second is difficult for you.
If we think of these things as ways to reach the result of being closer to God then we have a purpose for doing them. Perhaps those tasks will no longer seem to be laws we have to keep, requirements we need to accomplish, to be a “good” Christian.
I encourage you to set time aside for these activities I just mentioned, but remember if you fail to pray throughout the day or you don’t take time to read the bible every day you can try again tomorrow. You may just not have a very attractive fly, but as you keep practicing they will come out better. As you spend more time with God then your relationship will grow and after a while it will seem quite natural and you will find new ways to grow in your faith, just as I hope to learn new designs for flies.
By the way I didn’t get this out before the fly tying, one of those things I had hoped to accomplish, but I now have a greater appreciation for flies tied for fishing. I also have four new wooly buggers. Ask me about it sometime and I will show them to you.
Enjoy the tying and the result,
Pastor Randy
