Matt and I are curled up on the couch, watching a little TV tonight.  There’s not much on, so we keep it on Finding Nemo on the Disney Channel.  We’ve tuned in towards the end of the movie – when Marlin is traveling with the Sea Turtles to get to his son Nemo.  The young turtles ask him about the journey he is on, so he reluctantly tells them about his trek to find Nemo – the son who has been lost.

Nemo, in a fit of rebellion against his dad, travels to parts of the ocean that his father has prohibited. It is during this rebellious escapade that Nemo gets picked up by fishermen, and ends up living in a fish tank in Sydney – far, far from home.  Marlin chases after Nemo and his captors, going through one life threatening situation after another, searching for his Nemo.

After Marlin tells his story to the turtles, the tale of his quest spreads from creature to creature all throughout the ocean and finally falls on the ears of a pelican who has befriended Nemo and his friends in the aquarium.  The pelican rushes to Nemo to tell him of his father’s journey.  The battles with sharks, the navigation of a mine field of jellyfish, the high-speed jaunt through the Eastern Australian Current – Nemo hears it all.  After a quick moment of doubt that his father would go through all of that just to find him, Nemo is overcome with wonder that it’s all true.  The love that Nemo’s dad has for him was so strong that he practically moved mountains to rescue him from his captivity.

As I watched the movie, I couldn’t help but be caught up in the wide-eyed wonder that Nemo had when he discovered just how much his father had done to save him.  How easy it is to forget that our Heavenly Father has done so much more for us.  So much more than traversing an ocean and braving a whale’s gulp.  Even more than braving strange waters and surviving an encounter with an angler fish.

Creating a beautiful world for us to live in; sending his son to redeem us; counseling us day after day through the Spirit; bringing people into our lives to live with in community – these are a few of the things our Father has done to rescue our sad, spoiled lives.

It reminds me of this song – listen to it; meditate on it’s lyrics – let God show you a few of the things He has done in your life to save you.  It’s happening to all of us – a story of love and redemption is unfolding in each of our hearts…