Fishing
The Lord is watching everywhere,
keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. ~ Proverbs 15:3 (NLT)
God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. ~ Matthew 13:47 (MSG)
Lord, there is a wideness to your purview. You are aware of both good and evil. Your net captures both the tasty fish and the tasteless fish. Nothing escapes your view. There is something very reassuring about that fact. But it can also be a bit nerve-wracking. I kind of like the fantasy that I can live at least some of my life secretly and out of the limelight. But such is not the case. So help me to live faithfully in order that when you look at me you will see the faithfulness of Christ Jesus -- whose fishing net captures men and women and boys and girls. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
