1/17/05
A couple of years ago I read a great book by Steve Chapman called, A
Look at Life from a Deer Stand. I highly recommend this book to the
deer hunter in your life. But I live in Arkansas, the rice and duck hunting
capital of the world.’ While I do enjoy deer hunting, as an Arkansan it’s only
fitting that I offer up this rebuttal: Ten Life Lessons Learned in a
Duck Blind.
- Be prepared. Recently one of my friends was walking through the flooded
timber got some vines wrapped around his feet and took a face plant in the icy
water. His zipped up coat kept most of him dry but his gloves were soaked.
Coming prepared with an extra pair of gloves would have been a very good
idea. I Peter 3:15 says that we should “always be ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in
you…” Before we begin our day we need to be filled up with God’s word
and ready at any given moment to share our faith.
- Make sure your gun is loaded. We weren’t in the woods more than an hour
or so when I heard one of my buddies yell, “Hey, y’all got any extra
shells?” If you want to shoot ducks you have to have ammunition and if we
hope to win others to Christ and make a difference in our world we need to be
filled with God’s word. Phil. 4:8 tells us that our hearts need to be filled
with the things of God. Things like, “whatever is true…honorable…of good
repute…” Our minds need to dwell on these things. Proverbs 4:23 says to, “Guard
your heart…for it is the wellspring of life!” How terrible it is to be
in position to help someone only to discover that your well has run dry.
- Take the shot. We had seen quite a few ducks from the willows where we
stood but they all seemed to be too high to shoot. Then out of desperation,
it seemed, one of my friends raised his gun and took a shot at one of those
“high flyers” and it dropped like a stone. After that the slugfest was on all
we had to do was “take the shot.” You know, Peter walked on water, David slew
the giant, and the Zarephath widow survived a famine not because they believed
in God but because they believed God. You’ll never know the amazing things
God wants to do through you until you step out in faith and take the shot.
- Know where your friends are. There’s nothing better than duck hunting
with good friends but because those friends are usually pretty well
camouflaged it’s also very important to know exactly where they are. The
other day I was calling in a couple of mallards and they began to set down
right in front of me so I raised up my gun and “boom!” Which was quickly
followed by “Hey!” No one was hurt but they made sure to keep an eye on me
from then on out. The Bible says we are to “pursue righteousness,
faith, love and peace ‘with those’ who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.”
(2 Tim. 2:22) Fellowship and friendship are vital if we are to be the
people God created us to be. We need the accountability and the encouragement
that only friends can provide.
- Speak the language. To attract the ducks you need a good duck caller in
the bunch. Jesus said, “It is not those who are healthy that need a
physician, but those who are sick.” (Mt. 9:12) Which is why he ate
with lepers and prostitutes and criminals. The apostle Paul said it’s vital
that we reach people where they are, “I have become all things to all
men, that I may by all means save some.” (I Cor. 9:22) I’ve heard
some awfully well meaning Christians say, “The only book I read these days
is the Bible.” That’s great but you also need to read the paper and watch
the news and find out what’s going on in people’s lives so that your message
is culturally relevant. You need to be able to speak the language.
- Be disciplined. You haven’t experienced the full joy of duck hunting
until you hunt with a good dog. Of course nothing is worse than hunting with
a bad one. I remember once we hunted with a beautiful black lab who had all
the characteristics of a champion…except for that retrieving thing. With
every downed duck the owner had to tramp through the rice, shove the duck in
the dogs mouth and head back to the blind. The entire book of 2 Timothy
emphasizes the importance of being disciplined believers; “soldiers for
Christ” he calls it. 2 Timothy 2:15 tell us to “Be diligent to present
yourselves approved to God as a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed…”
- Be alert! Hunting in the timber you have to be ready because some of
these wood ducks will buzz you like a navy fly-by. If you’re busy talking or
daydreaming you’ll miss your opportunity. Not only are we as Christians to be
ready to “testify of the hope that lives within” but Paul says
we should also “be ready in season and our of season”, (2 Tim.
4:2) “prepared for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21) and ready to
“edify according to the need of the moment.” (Eph. 4:29)
- Practice. My three buddies and I watched with our fingers on the trigger
as thirty or more teal spiraled into the early morning flooded timber. When
the smoke finally cleared we were exposed as practitioners of the ‘shoot and
release’ method of duck hunting with only three birds dead on the water. It
doesn’t matter what kind or how many guns you have if you can’t shoot ‘em…you
need to practice. Philippians 4:8,9 tells us not only to fill our minds with
the things of God but also to “practice these things!” Don’t
just talk about them do them, over and over!
- Expect adversity. Duck hunting is a winter sport. It’s going to be cold
and wet…deal with it! By the same token Christians must understand that if
this world hates the things of Christ they will hate us, too. Jesus said,
“Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring
peace but a sword.” (Matt. 10:34) Jesus knew there was no making
peace with an enemy whose sole purpose for being was to kill him. He came to
fight for us and he expects us to fight as well; fight for our marriages,
fight for our children, and fight for the lives of those around us. And make
no mistake, unlike ducks this enemy shoots back! (Eph. 6:16)
- Finally, Take care of your weapon. A couple of years ago I was standing
in chest high, very cold water staring for what seemed like hours into a
duck-less, gray sky when all of the sudden a hooded Merganser landed not 15
feet from me. The sudden splash awoke me from my near-hypothermia induced
coma. I quickly raised my gun, pulled the trigger only to hear ‘click’. My
gun had jammed and my buddy now has a nice mount in his living room. In the
duck woods your weapon is a shotgun. If you don’t clean it and care for it,
it will fail you when you need it most. What’s our weapon as Christians? Why
the sword of the Spirit, of course. (Eph. 6:17) But that Bible gathering dust
only becomes the sword of the Spirit when you read it, then heed it, then
believe it and finally repeat it!
Happy hunting, my friends (Matt. 4:19).
Matt Mosler is the
Director of CrossHeirs Retreat Center and Beautiful Feet Ministry. You
can reach him at
matt@mattmosler.com.