Sharks

I cut the following illustration out of my sermon for tomorrow.  I really like it, but tomorrow's sermon is already full of lots of good stories, an this one did not quite fit in the spot where I had placed it.   So out it came.

The sermon is based on Ephesians 4, and Paul saying "Grow Up".   The general theme of the message is about how each of us is actually a work in progress.  We can and should continue to grow as long as we live, not only physically, but  also mentally by always learning, and spiritually through acts of kindness and service.

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A young man was a deep sea diver whose job it was to catch fish for aquariums.  He said that the favorite fish for an aquarium is actually a shark.  If you confine a small fish in a tank,  its size will be limited to the size of the container.  A tank shark might grow to be six inches long.  But if that same shark is released into the ocean, it will grow to its normal length of eight feet.

The same thing is true of us human beings.  We can remain little six inch sharks, swimming around in a little puddle,  limited by the size of our  ideas, beliefs, dreams.

But if we are willing to let go of  familiar patterns, and notions, and convictions in order to embrace a broader and more inclusive vision, for example,  there is no limit to what we might become or accomplish.  We then see ourselves as part of all of creation, rather than through a narrow lens of place, or nation, or ideology.

The fish tank is small and limiting, and stifles growth.

The ocean is vast and deep and filled with  wonder at every turn!

That is certainly where I had rather be!