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Matthew 13:47-50 (NIV)
The Parable of the Net
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Fishermen in Israel would use large nets, called seines, that were quite long with weights to pull the bottom of the net down and cork to hold up the top. The net would be dragged by both ends towards the shore catching any and all fish in its path. But this meant that the inedible and unsellable fish would be caught, too, and needed to be separated from the good ones. The danger of the hiddenness of God’s kingdom is that we lose focus and stop trusting in Jesus. But through faith, we can look forward to the day of separation with hope. Ask God to keep you focused on His will and the coming of His kingdom so that you might live a life as a “good fish” here and now and not be tossed out with the “bad fish”.