If my grandchildren ever ask me to tell them a story about when their mom and dad were young, I will definitely share this one because it illustrates what the Bible says about sin. We used to have an aquarium. My mother-in-law offered us one she had used it for a Sunday school class but didn't want at home. We had aquariums when I was growing up, so I knew it is kind of relaxing to watch fish swim. We set it up and the kids named each goldfish, mostly after TV characters. But it was my daughter, Britten, who came up with the most original goldfish name--Aquiel. Aquiel was a fast swimmer. Speed is not usually a prerequisite for life in an aquarium. It's not like they have far to go. But Aquiel did not seem to know that, and swam as if training for the fish Olympics. One night, before we went to bed, we noticed her zipping faster and faster from glass wall to glass wall. Aquiel was amazing.
The next morning, we found Aquiel dead on the floor. As it turns out, Aquiel was not racing around the aquarium just for fun. She had a plan. (If it was a she, hard to tell with goldfish.) An escape plan. Aquiel had been practicing building speed so that one night she could escape the confines of the aquarium and jump for her freedom. But the freedom she worked so hard for only led to her death. The aquarium hadn't just confined her, it kept her safe. The parable is obvious. The aquarium is like our lives when we follow God's ways. Sin promises us that escaping from God will free us, but the Bible tells us sin leads to death. It certainly did for Aquiel.
Fast, foolish Aquiel.
She found her freedom,
but it didn't end well.
No comments:
Post a Comment