The Whale—Gratitude
"So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law."1
"If you read this front page story in the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.
"A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her.
"They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as if she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The man who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same."2
When we realize that the chains of sin, unless we are set free by Jesus Christ, will damn us to a lost eternity, our eyes will be opened so that we can see that Jesus Christ is the only one who can set us free and save us for all eternity. When we allow Jesus to set us free, we, too, will never be the same again.
And may we, who have been set free, like the divers who set the whale free, do everything we can to help others be freed from the chains of sin by introducing them to Jesus.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you are the only one who can set me free from the chains of sin. Please use me to help bring others to you so that they, too, can be freed from the chains of sin. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Galatians 5:1 (NLT).
2. Reported to be from San Francisco Chronicle. Date unknown.
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All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.