Walton's Rucksack

It's no secret that anglers often have a penchant for camouflage. It's not a recent development, either- even old Izaak Walton was counselling anglers to wear drab clothing to blend in, and he was writing way back in the 17th Century. Whether your preference is for Realtree, army surplus or just drab greens, olives and browns it's advice that most anglers tend to heed. Camouflage helps us to blend in, and thus catch more fish (or at least, that's the theory!) However, in faith terms, our Christian allegiance should never be camouflaged. Our mission isn't to "blend in", but rather to "stand out." Jesus spoke about his followers being those who stand out and shine as lights in the darkness, and challenged his disciples not to "hide their light under a bushel." In Acts 4, we read about two of the disciples (who also happened to be fishermen!) Peter and John being hauled before the Temple Authorities for preaching about Jesus ...

My first fishing trip of this year, made in the company of two other Christian Anglers members, was with specimen perch as the intended target. The specimen perch aspiration was a realistic one, as the pond concerned was one from which all three of us have landed out-sized perch and where, although the fishing is never easy, normally at least one of the party lands a stripey, spiky fish that merits weighing and a quick "grip and grin" for the camera. However, this time round the only perch we caught were miniscule, and the fish we predominantly caught were roach, almost all in the six ounce to three quarters of a pound size range. Now, don't get me wrong, they were handsome fish, silver hued like something from a jeweller's window and good fun to catch, but they weren't what we expected or had ventured to the lake in search of. Reflecting afterwards, I thought about how that fishing trip was, in a sense, a microcosm of life itself. So often what happen...