I caught my first fish on a bamboo pole cut from the back of our neighbor’s privacy screening. As fish stories go, it was a whopper. Evidence from Dad’s Kodak Instamatic (the one with a flash cube on top) proved the giant to be about the size of Mom’s cast iron frying pan. I caught him on a rusty hook baited with leftover liver from the fridge at the family lake cabin. The great-grandparents stayed over the days before our time and left some of their Great Depression cuisine.
Some years later, a trip to the back corner of Wal-Mart afforded an upgrade to my fishing gear. I still have the spinner rod and what lures that did not go the way of tree limbs, angry turtles, underwater hazards, or a strong fish. Lures come in all shapes, sizes, colors and in some cases, with shiny silver spoons. They catch a fish’s attention, fool their brain into predator mode, and the rest is sharp, barbed hook, taxidermic history.
Jesus’ teaches us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6) His half-brother James writes, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1)
The anatomy of sin in a believer’s life is much like the art of fishing lures. Our strong desire or lust for something sinful clouds our judgment. Remaining corruption or the flesh is powerful and must be put to death (Colossians 3). We are drawn out and away from our sanctified good sense and judgment, and giving in to the prize, we find ourselves caught. Like Paul, when the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and we are caught in sin, we call on our Savior! (Romans 7) “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” He is our High Priest who knows what this is like. He has been through it all, yet never caved into sin (Hebrews 4).
Some suggest that when we pray, “Deliver us from evil” that Satan or the Evil One is in mind. He is the Father of Lies (Genesis 3), a Murder (John 8), a plucker of Gospel seed (Mark 4), and a tempter (Matthew 4). Paul says he tricks people by bearing light or seemingly serving righteousness (2 Thessalonians 2; 2 Corinthians 11). He is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7).
“I need thee, precious Jesus, for I am very poor; a stranger and a pilgrim, I have no earthly store. I need the love of Jesus to cheer me on my way, to guide my doubting footsteps, to be my strength and stay.” (Frederick Whitfield)