PHOTO EPISTLE #20 – Fishers of Men

One of my favorite countries to visit is Israel. For four months I had the privilege of serving Rabbi Dr. Harold Liebowitz as his photographer on an archeology expedition in the Yavnel Valley. After five long dirty days living like prairie dogs, each week, from Friday evenings until Sunday nights, we all would head off to other parts of Israel to explore. On weekends when I did not have an assignment to shoot, I would love to head over to Tiberias and just hang out and photograph life along the shores of the Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. Many times I would try to imagine Jesus hanging out with His disciples in the place I was, which I’m pretty sure He did. Nothing in my life has matched the beauty of watching the moonrise over the Sea of Galilee with a cool breeze gently blowing off the water. I love it so much, I’ve often thought if I had the money, I’d move to Israel and build a sailing boat to take people out on a week long tour of the Galilee…dream on! The main fish caught in the Galilee is a fish called St. Peters Fish. I’m sure the name is a reference to Matthew 17-27. That fish prepared correctly was very tasty! Because Israel is such christian tourism destination, I found myself learning a great deal about the Bible. However, one scripture, Matthew 19, would haunt me the whole time I was in Israel, especially there in Tiberias. You see, at this time in my life, I would consider myself a friend of the family of Christ, but not a member! I knew Jesus was Lord, He just wasn’t my Lord. I was my Lord. My lust for the created drove me more than my love or lack of love for my creator. Yet His voice kept calling out to me “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!”.  A few years later I finally did decide to follow Him! Thank God his offer is not a one time offer, yet is a standing offer, good until the day we die. As fun as sin was, following Jesus has been much more fun. In fact, it blows sin out of the water! No pun intended:)

the Jesusfreak