by Richelle Hecker

The gift of new life.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

This is Frank. We didn’t name him. He was gifted to us by a young lady who couldn’t care for him any longer, because she was heading off to college. His name means “free one”, which I find ironic for a fish that’s lived its life in captivity. Frank is pretty rough around the edges, literally. His fins were mostly chewed, or rotted, off a long time ago. When he first arrived in our home he moved into a tank with his good friend, a Plecostomus (a sucker-mouth catfish). Unfortunately, his friend recently died and he was left on his own. We made the decision to move him into the big tank with all of our other fish. 

Frank went through some difficult struggles in his past, but he is a survivor. As soon as we placed him in the new tank he began to change colors. Sometimes he acquires stripes. He used to hide in his old tank a lot, but in the new environment he appeared social and spent time trying to interact with other fish. It was amazing to see this old fish, we thought near his last days, perk up.

This fish battled other fish, sickness, loneliness, and depression. Yet life did not end there for him, he was given a new life. Perhaps his given name is perfect after all.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” 
Ephesians 2:4-7 New American Standard Bible

Many of us have limped through life like Frank. We have suffered as a result of our own sin and the sin of others. Yet God, in His mercy, has saved us! We can rejoice knowing that we are alive in Christ. He will never leave us wallowing in misery. Instead He promises us a new life and freedom with Him.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO