One day Jesus was at the lake with many people. People were curious and wanted to hear what Jesus had to say about God and the kingdom of heaven. Jesus loved to tell stories that helped people understand what God and His kingdom are all about. One of these stories is called “The Parable of the Net Full of Fish”.
Jesus said, “Imagine that the kingdom of heaven is like a great net that fishermen throw into the sea. The net collects all kinds of fish: large and small, beautiful and ordinary. It doesn’t matter what kind of fish they are, they all end up in the net.”
The children could well imagine how fishermen worked with a huge net and reeled in all the different fish. Jesus continued: “When the net is full, the fishermen pull it ashore. Then each fisherman sits down and selects the good fish to put in baskets. But they throw away the bad fish.”
Jesus explained that this would be the end of the world. Angels will come and separate the good and the bad people from each other. The good people who love God and obey His Word will come into God’s kingdom. But the wicked people who have not listened to God are separated from His kingdom.
With this story, Jesus wanted to tell people how important it is to have a loving heart that obeys God’s commandments. When we listen to God and do the right thing, we are like the good fish that fishermen keep.
People listened carefully to Jesus and understood that it is important to live each day in a way that pleases God. In this way, when the time comes, they are ready to go to the kingdom of heaven.
Message of history
God wants us to live lovingly and well so that we can belong to Him. He looks into our hearts and wants us to listen to His Word and do the right thing.
Bible passage
The parable of the net full of fish is found in Matthew 13:47-50:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, gathering together fish of every kind. When it was full, they pulled it to the shore; and they sat down and gathered the good ones into vessels, and they threw away the bad ones. So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
