Finding Nemo
Or Dory, whichever you fancy...
Have you watched Finding Nemo? You probably have. I’m not sure if I have, but it sounds vaguely familiar. It’s like a blurry memory from my childhood. Here’s an abridged version.
The story is set in the Great Barrier Reef and follows a timid and overprotective parent named Marlin. Years before the story begins, a barracuda attack took the life of his wife, Coral, and all of their eggs except for one, whom Marlin names Nemo. As a result, Marlin is terrified of the ocean and the dangers it holds, making him an extremely cautious and nervous parent.
On Nemo’s first day of school, he has a defiant moment to prove his bravery to his friends, and he swims out to a boat. He is then captured by a scuba diver and taken to a dentist’s office in Sydney, Australia.
Heartbroken and panicked, Marlin sets off on an epic journey across the vast ocean to find his son.
Meanwhile, Nemo is placed in a fish tank in the dentist’s office, where he meets the “Tank Gang,” a group of eccentric fish who yearn for freedom. The tank’s leader, Gill, befriends Nemo and hatches a plan for the entire gang to escape back to the ocean. The plan involves Nemo, the smallest of the group, clogging the tank’s filter.
As Marlin continues his journey, he encounters a host of memorable characters, and news of Marlin’s incredible journey spreads throughout the ocean, eventually reaching the tank in Sydney, giving Nemo hope.
The story climaxes with Marlin and Nemo’s separate but converging paths leading to a heartwarming and emotional reunion. Marlin must learn to trust both the ocean and his son’s ability to take care of himself, while Nemo learns that his “lucky fin” (shortcomings) doesn’t hold him back.
A while ago, listening to a sermon or video clip, the teacher says something simple but profound! It goes like this, ‘The greatest shift in the way Jesus brought Heaven to us is marked by the subtle but powerful shift in the way men pray.’ God was previously heralded as 'The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob' or 'The lord of Hosts' or Elohim or Yahweh. Jesus saunters on stage in the era of Israel’s captivity, both physically to Rome and spiritually to their sins, and in an almost casual way says;
Matthew 6:9 TPT
[9] Pray like this: ‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn.
Do you see it?
Jesus introduces God to humanity in a way that secures their position in heaven and also allows for an individualized, custom-made relationship with the Creator.
He says, OUR FATHER!
That is, his father, my father, your father! Our Father!
It’s incredible, definitely a singularity in the entire expanse of history since the inception of mankind. Talk about eternal security! I no longer have to go before God, insecure about who I am and whether I matter to Him. Scared of being myself, my flawed, imperfect, fallible self.
My excitement is surely lost on you, so let’s take two steps back and observe the relationship of God with men prior to when Jesus did what he did.
II Samuel 6:6-7 NKJV
[6] And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. [7] Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
That is, in a bid to transport the ark, at a certain point, the oxen stumbled, and the ark was suddenly unstable. It would have fallen, but the son of the man in whose house the ark had been resting prior to its movement thought to himself, 'Let me prevent this ark from touching the floor.' He reached out to steady it, and God, in anger, killed him in that instant for his ERROR, for his mistake? Was it a mistake to want to be of help? How many times have you made errors, dear reader?
Let’s see another example.
Exodus 28:34-35 NIV
[34] The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. [35] Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
Look at the consecrations required, the amount of intentionality, the degree of purposefulness that is necessary to enter the presence and come out alive! A simple glance at the contemporary church will tell you that if most of us existed back then, we would be piles of ashes.
Israel, at best, was simply 'a people to God.' Not children, people. Generic, unspecific, expendable even. So the changes wrought by Jesus are, at the very least, commendable! Exhilarating even. The possibilities are mind-blowing.
Despite the variety of lifelong changes that being adopted into God’s family can bring, to most of you, the experience is lost out because of a common factor: Human Fatherhood.
The average human is plagued by excesses. Brought up abruptly, thrown into the world before your basic foundations are formed, you lie to sleep and suddenly wake up an adult the next day. You’re forced into responsibilities, norms, and pressure from a society that cares only for performance and/or bad news. The child in you withers, your dreams follow, and lastly, your hope for a future of your own making dies in silence. Then come the whispers of when, when will you settle down, when will you find a stable job, when will you give me grandkids, when will you have your own home, when will you buy your first car?
To please the fates, a child that has no business being a man just yet, wears the sandals of manhood and, before long, becomes a father. A frustrated, striving, silent, and emotionally distant father. The one that has a throne at home that you dare not approach unless you have bells on your robe, the one that can’t be wrong or need help lest you end up unfavoured. Whose anger is louder than his love, in his presence, you cower or even flee out of fear, not mutual respect or even devotion. Everyone is at peace with who they find themselves to be until Daddy comes home.
So even in church, when the minister says, 'Talk to your father in heaven, ' you only know how to request, how to report, how to kneel in a show of reverence. But the finer intricacies of intimacy are lost to you; you don’t know how to relax, to breathe, to bask in Him. It is alien to you the concept of casual conversations with your maker, of telling Him how your day went, your deepest fears or longings, your dreams and aspirations of the kind of future you envision for yourself. You can’t tell your Father that you’re in love with the prettiest woman you know besides your mom, you can’t tell him how you feel about things, you dare not be without guard or speak of your failings or feelings.
You only know how to bargain, to ask for needs that without question were already in His plans for you. You feel the need to justify your asking, to prove to the one who made you that you’re worth his attention or value. So there’s no difference between your prayer time and bargaining with the mallam that sells meat in the market.
Drawing parallels, like Marlin to whom life did dirty, many of our parents are likewise, bringing about a cautious, fearful form of parenting. Yes, Marlin goes on a search to find his son, and their story has a fairytale spin to its end. But in reality, yes, some of our parents may come searching, but once you’re found, rather than an embrace, you would receive the beating of your life! Several concussions later, you’ll find your immediate future grounded, locked up like Rapunzel in that tower. You would pay much more than what is due for that error of yours.
But it is not so in Christ.
Letting go of the past, the Father to the Prodigal Son, the Father to Nemo, embraces him upon his discovery. Jesus dies once and for all so that, unlike Uzzah, you can grab hold of your daddy’s pinky and yet live. You can walk with Him in the cool of the day without needing to hide your hurt or nakedness.
The story of Marlin is one of redeeming parenthood. That of Nemo is a story of you.
Maybe your experience of parenting was less than, and now that you’re exposed, it’s hard for you to let go of past hurts and excesses that you shouldn’t have borne. I hope that in reading this, healing finds its way to you.
Though human parenting may have failed you, Abba Father is all about redemption, of lost time, opportunity, and human excesses.
So, when next you pray,
Let it be a conversation, not a negotiation.
Say, 'Abba Father'
NB: I wrote this under the influence of this song. You should listen.
Thank you for this. Now I have more information to give people anytime I tell them to have a conversation with God.
How is this so good; such a therapeutic read🥹🤍