Casting off the smelly fish

Is there any good news in the idea that God is going to get rid of the bad fish?

Christians are often judged for being judgmental.

Is there any wonder that this is the case given passages like the Parable of the Net (Matt 13:47-51) which appears to indicate an end time when God will cast off those smelly fish that really only deserve dumping.

I suspect that Christian or not most people do recognize that there is a problem of evil in the world. This evil can be found within the whole spectrum of people: those of great faith right through to those of none.

For this reason the idea that the evil in this world might be cast aside at some point by God should carry some weight for most.

I suspect the problem for Christianity is when some Christians begin to take the place of the one who casts the net in the story. That is to say, they see themselves in the place of God and so assume the ability to work out which of the fish we are sharing the sea with the fisherman is going to discard.

Is it possible that when Jesus told this parable not only was he putting a hope before us, a time when the evil will be dealt with, but also reminding us that it is not our business to make decisions of how that catch should be sorted?

Peter Lockhart