Anne and I love Pixar films. The other day I was watching Finding Nemo with Aidan. (Can't wait until he starts babbling and then saying NEEEEEEMOOOOO!!) In the movie, a father having an overly-protective moment makes his son angry, who decides to have a rebellious moment (gee, that's a blog/sermon right there). As you know, Nemo is taken by the "enemy" as an unforeseen consequence of his choices. Nemo's father, Marlin, goes on a LONG journey, filled with adventures, all for the rescue of his son.
I understand that there are a lot of lessons to be learned from Marlin's flaws as characterized in the movie, but I draw the analogy here of him as a loving father who does not think for ONE SECOND about going home and getting his things packed before his journey. He immediately is focused fully on one thing, finding his lost son and bringing him home.
Jesus will stop at NOTHING to rescue his sons and daughters. He has gone through death, hell, and resurrection for our rescue. Even now, we experience rescue through Jesus when he answers our prayers. As Psalm 40 says,
"1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
He rescued us from our sins not only for our sake, but also for his glory--with the plan and purpose that MANY will see and fear (be awed, revere) Him. Are we spreading his fame? Are we living before the world like we've been rescued and set on a rock? Or do those around us see us reliving our experience of wallowing in the slimy pit?
When Nemo was rescued and returned to his home with his father, they had both learned some tremendous things about themselves. Their relationship was forever different. Nemo lived a changed life as a result of his rescue. He loved his dad more than anything because he'd been given a second chance at life.
1 comment:
Thought-provoking blog post. And as an added bonus, I now have U2's song "40" stuck in my head. :-) (Cue the bass line) "I will sing, sing a new song!"
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