Reflections on Fish

The following reflection was initiated by a friend's comment about a lake stocked with catfish for catch/release fishing.

What if we thought about fishing from the perspective of the prey instead of the predator? A fish, when hooked, has to know that something is seriously wrong. First, there is this extreme pain in the lip and a sudden tug. Then as if that is not enough, there is the instantaneous burst into hyper-speed as the fish goes sailing through the water. Even if they had never been hooked up to this point in their existence, they had to have heard stories from the rest of the fish community. As they go careening through the depths to the unknown I wonder what they are thinking.

Life flashes before their eyes and as they get reeled up into what is sure to be certain doom, the hook is removed, they get launched into the air and before they know it they are breathing life once again. What a whirlwind of emotions. They were caught in the grip of death, only to be rescued and allowed to taste the sweetness of freedom instead. Only later do they realize there is still a hole in their lip which serves as a daily reminder of that point in their life. I'm not sure if that hole reminds them more about the glorious day they were redeemed or how dumb they were to get hooked in the first place. Either way, they'll remember!

I want to resist stretching this too far, but we have all been "hooked" by one thing or another in our lives that seems enticing at the time. The difference is that we are redeemed by someone greater than your average fisherman. Even though the shackles have been removed and we are able to taste freedom, many times we are left with some kind of hole to serve as a reminder of who and what we were in our past. The hope is that the hole we have in our lives will not remain empty forever, but will be filled by the one who loves us so much to redeem us. I pray we'll remember!

May we live each day as the redeemed!