Don’t be a dumb fish:
There are a lot of fish in our pond. You don’t see most of
them, but they are there – the larger ones further out into the deep, tiny ones
by the shore. You can see thousands of minnies of various sizes all along the
banks of the pond throughout late Spring and most of the summer. Anyone know
why they are there at the edge?
The shallow shoreline is a safe haven for them. The larger
fish can’t reach them as the water isn’t deep enough for them to get to them.
As long as they stay near the shoreline, they are safe.
Unfortunately I witness a lot of deaths each time I run my
4 wheeler or lawn mower by them on the grass. They panic at the ground
vibrations and the sight of the monster prowling along the bank and without
thought, they speed away to deeper water – into the darkness. Some don’t get
more than a few feet until they are swallowed up by bigger fish who have been
lying in wait in the deeper water – gone forever. It saddens me watching a life
– any life snuffed out before its time.
What can we learn from this? Basically the same lesson can
be learned in two different issues of life.
- Young people. You are at an age when you are still
under the protection of your parents. They set rules like staying near the
safety of the bank (home, family, etc.) because they know about the danger
lurking in the deep. You can choose (wisely) to remain under that
protection and have greater opportunity to grow up to become the person God
intended you to be or you can choose (unwisely) to ignore those warnings and
venture off into the deep. Should you choose to venture into the deep, be
assured many dangers await. It might be something as simple yet serious as
tempting you to smoke cigarettes. It might lead to worse things like
alcohol or drug use. Girls may be sexually abused if they get into the
wrong situation. Worse thing is you could end up a statistic as many of
those big “fish” are only out to harm and even destroy those who venture
into their lairs. Girls need to be sure they are not making it too easy for
the prey that lurks in the deep and the dark.
- Christians: You may have made a commitment to follow
Jesus the rest of your life and on into eternity; you may desire to be what
God wants you to be and you may think you are doing okay – that you are safe
in your heavenly Father’s protective arms. But you, too, begin to wander
away from the safety of the bank (the place set apart from the world),
wrapped up in other things or just not taking the time, or your position
with Christ as seriously as you should. You begin to spend less time with
Him and His people—you ask less and less what He wants you to be doing and
go about doing what you want. You don’t take Him as seriously as you
should. For some it is sudden and unexpected – you are swallowed up by the
world and its idols and don’t even know how it happened. You only need to
let down your guard for a moment. For others it is a gradual drifting away
from the place of safety. You may think the things you have heard about
staying close to the bank are overstated and not as serious as some would
have you believe. You may think you can handle things yourself. You may
have an unrealistic sense of security away from the bank until one day you
open your eyes and wonder how you got into the scary deep and wonder if you
can possibly make it back through dangerous waters.
What can you do? If you haven’t wandered from the bank
(safety of family, home, church, friends, Jesus), don’t! If you have, get back
where you belong and stay there. God will help you handle any situation you may
be in – He has the answers to all questions and needs.
Don’t be a dumb fish.
Everwind Ranch
Joan Wurst
15871 Sturgis Road
Union City, PA 16438
814-438-3903
EMAIL
© 2003 Joan E. Wurst & Everwind Ranch. All rights reserved.
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