A Lesson from an Old Fisherman

Great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book the Cost of Discipleship said Judging others makes us blind , whereas love is illuminating . By judging others , we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are . I think that being judgmental is something that we do very easily and very commonly .

We judge people by the way they're dressed or the way they talk , or by the friends they hang out with , or even by the car they drive or the color of clothes that they wear . It's very easy to try and judge other people , but often it leads to great mistakes .

Today I want to tell you a story that a lady wrote called the Day that I Met the Old Fisherman . Our house was directly across the street from the Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore , maryland . We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic . One summer evening , as I was fixing supper , there was a knock at the door .

I opened it to see a truly awful-looking fellow . He was an old fisherman . Why , he's hardly taller than my eight-year-old , I thought as I stared at the stooped and shriveled body . But the appalling thing was his face . It was lopsided from swelling , red and raw .

Yet his voice was pleasant and he said Good evening , I've come to see if you've a room for just one night . I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore and there's no bus till morning . The fisherman told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon , but with no success . I guess it's my face , he said .

I know it looks a little terrible , but my doctor says with a few more treatments . For a moment I hesitated , but his next words convinced me I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch . He said my bus leaves early in the morning . I smiled and told him we would find him a bed , but to rest on the porch .

I went inside and finished getting supper and when we were ready I asked the old fisherman if he would join us . No , thank you , I have plenty . And he held up a brown paper bag . When I had finished the dishes I went out on the porch to talk with him for a few minutes .

It didn't take long to see that the old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body . He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter , her five children and her husband who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury . He didn't tell it by way of complaint . In fact , every other sentence was prefaced with a thanks to God for a blessing .

He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease , which was apparently a form of skin cancer . He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going and still allow him to fish .

At bedtime we put up a camp cot in the children's room for him , and when I got up in the morning the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch . He refused breakfast , but just before he left for his bus , haltingly , as if asking a great favor , he said "'Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment ?

Won't put you out a bit ? I can sleep fine in a chair' . He paused for a moment and then added "'Your children made me feel at home . Grown-ups are bothered by my face , but children don't seem to mind' . I told him he was welcome to come again On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning .

As a gift he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen . He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh . I knew his bus left at 4 am and I wondered what time he got up in order to do this . In the years he came to stay overnight with us .

There was never a time the old fisherman did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden . Other times we received packages in the mail , always by special delivery Fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale , every leaf carefully washed .

Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these and knowing how little money he made , the gifts seemed doubly precious . When I received these little remembrances I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left the first time Did you keep that awful-looking man ? Last night I turned him away .

You can lose rumors by putting up with such people . Maybe we did lose rumors once or twice , but oh , if they had known him , perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear . I know our family will always be grateful to have known him . From him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God .

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse . She showed me her flowers . We came to the most beautiful one of all , a golden chrysanthemum bursting with blooms , but to my surprise it was growing out of an old , dented , rusty bucket . I thought to myself , if this were my plant I'd put it in the loveliest container I had .

But my friend changed my mind . She said I ran short of pots and knowing how beautiful this one would be , I thought I wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail . It's just for a little while till I can put it out in the garden . She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly , but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven .

Here's my especially beautiful one . God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman , he won't mind starting out in a small body . It's true that when we judge people too quickly or too easily that we can miss out on some of the greatest blessings that God has for us .

Colossians 3.12 says Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves , you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy , kindness , humility , gentleness and patience . Humility , gentleness and patience . We must be constantly aware that God is wanting to use us to show his love to the people around us .

It's a choice that we need to make and a step of faith that we take . Let God use you and love other people through you , and you will be blessed for it . Have a great day , my friends . We will talk again tomorrow it have a great day , my friends . We will talk again tomorrow .

Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here on Starting Right , with Danny Mac .