Why We Hunt by Randy Rowley 10/22/24 ©

I sometimes receive the following question from acquaintances or strangers (but never from people who know me): “Why do you hunt?”

Hunting, like fishing, is not a sure thing.  I’ve gone home without firing a shot on many occasions, especially while duck hunting.  So, why do we keep hunting, knowing that most of us will have full bags or fill our tags infrequently at best?  It’s because hunting is about more than the thrill of knocking down a fast-moving dove or dropping a big buck.

Other reasons to hunt include:

• being in and connecting to God’s creation (including experiencing gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, awesome thunderstorms, thick morning fogs, and watching the earth wake up and go to sleep);
• fellowshipping with others with like goals and desires;
• relaxation including leaving adulting and the stress of the world behind;
• the challenges of outsmarting a worthy opponent, and pitting ourselves against nature and the elements; and
• providing food for our families, including directly taking responsibility for obtaining food.

But perhaps the most important reason that we hunt is that each hunt is full of hope and every minute spent outdoors has the potential to make things different – to change a bad day into a good one or a good day into a great one.  For example, we might not have seen ducks anywhere near us, then suddenly three flocks come into our decoys within ten minutes and we have full bags.  Or we might not have seen any deer all morning, then suddenly a nice 10-pointer steps out by the feeder.

Sometimes we’re having a slow day, when suddenly something changes and we start dropping ducks.  And we’re never quite certain what made the change – was it because of our decoy spread, how well our blind is concealed, our calling, the sun went behind the clouds, or something else?

Most of my friends don’t believe in luck and instead regard success as God’s blessings.  For example, setting our decoys out at a spot results in full bags.  But setting up at that spot on the next day with the same decoy spread, blind, calling, and weather conditions doesn’t fool a duck.  That mystery is one of the reasons that I often say, “That’s why it’s called hunting and not killing.”

Many times while hunting, I wanted to quit early, but I kept hunting hoping that if I stayed at it things would eventually be different.  Sometimes staying paid off – other times it didn’t.

People who might not know God, often ask questions during Good News conversations.  Two of the most common questions are “Why does God love me?” and “How can God forgive me when he knows what I’ve done?”

The first thing to understand is it’s God’s nature to love.  1 John 4:8 proclaims, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  Notice that the verse doesn’t say, “God loves.”  It says that he is love – it’s his nature and the essence of his being.  Yes, God has many other attributes, including grace, forgiveness, peace, joy, anger, and wrath.  But no verse says, “God is grace,” for example.

Love is also what God does.  John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  God lavished love on undeserving people in rebellion against him.  God’s love is sacrificial and unconditional.  1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  God draws us to himself by forgiving us of rebelling against him, and by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, which enables us to love as he does.

God did this even though we weren’t lovable and didn’t deserve God’s love.  Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  The state of mankind since Adam and Eve’s fall is one of rebellion.  Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) describes man’s condition.  It says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.  Who really knows how bad it is?”  Sin so corrupts us that we don’t realize the extent to which it stains us.  When we’re lost in our sins, we don’t know, love, or seek God.  Romans 3:10-12 presents mankind in our natural state.  It says, “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

How can a holy, righteous, and sinless God love such people?  Because he is love.

God knew us before we were born.  Jeremiah 1:5a says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”  God loves mankind globally but also loves each of us individually and personally.  His love is endless and without conditions.  It doesn’t matter what we’ve done.  Psalms 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”  David didn’t say, “…so far has he removed our transgressions except ABC from us…”  1 John 1:9 (NLT) says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  John didn’t say, “…he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, except sins XYZ…”

Many of the heroes of our faith who are listed in Hebrews Chapter 11 committed egregious sins.  Noah, the ark builder when it had yet to rain on the earth, was a drunk.  Abraham, the friend of God and the father of the faithful, displayed cowardice by repeatedly lying about his wife and not protecting her, and committed adultery.  Isaac, who was the realization of Abraham’s faith, showed favoritism between his sons and displayed cowardice by lying about his wife.  Moses, the Hebrews’ deliverer from slavery in Egypt, killed a man, first ensuring that he wasn’t seen, and took credit for one of God’s miracles.  Rahab, who sheltered the Hebrew spies in Jericho, was a prostitute.  King David, the giant slayer, a man after God’s own heart, a strong leader of God’s people, and the most prolific psalmist, committed adultery and arranged the murder of Bathsheba’s husband.  Samson, the mighty judge of the Philistines, lusted after foreign women and was captured and blinded due to his pride.

Such sins were not limited to the Old Testament.  Judas, one of Jesus’ chosen 12 disciples, betrayed Jesus for money.  Peter, the rock on which Jesus would build his church, was impulsive, often speaking and acting without thinking.  Paul, the great church starter among the Gentiles and writer of around half of the New Testament, arrested innocent Christians and held the cloaks of the men who murdered Steven, approving of it.  The heroes of our faith were just like us – deeply flawed.

Many fellow hunters struggle while answering questions about why they hunt because they haven’t given much thought to the subject and; therefore, aren’t prepared to answer questions.  We aren’t commanded by anyone to ‘win’ people over to our side, but, as we’re outnumbered, we should try to present hunting in a good light, when presented with the opportunity.

The same is true with questions that we receive when we’re having Good News conversations with people who might not know God.  We need to be prepared, and the ways to do that are to know what God’s Word says and to learn to answer questions by sharing the Good News (learn by doing).  1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.”