By Jim Brown, Moderator
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
Melvin the Squirt found his way to our home after weekend services at Grace Community Church. Everything within me said, “Don’t bring him home because he will just take up space and all he does is eat and sleep.” I also knew he would need his water cleaned regularly and that he would beg for food every day. Besides, I was way too busy to look after him and my track record for this kind of guest always ends with someone crying, a conversation about death, and a shallow grave in the back yard.
You see, Melvin the Squirt was a big, homeless goldfish that my nine-year-old wanted to rescue. Isaiah saw him all alone and begged me to bring him home. I tried my normal response that went something like this, “We don’t need another fish in our house. He will die in a few days and besides, we don’t have time for another fish-guest.”
Immediately he gave me those big, sad, blue eyes and the curled bottom lip. It’s a come-on-Dad-look that any parent knows, the one that goes right to the dusty compassion-filled corners of your heart.
I’m a real sucker for that look, so we loaded up Melvin and drove home. To make matters worse, we drove 20 miles below the speed limit because his water was splashing everywhere. I had owned this stinkin’ fish for five minutes and I already hated him; he was invading my life and was interrupting my plans.
Melvin made it home and actually lived three days longer than our last fish; in fact he lived almost two weeks. I even found myself really liking the little guy. He wasn’t all that bad once we invited him in; he just wanted someone to be his friend.
Recently, while I was in Washington D.C. for ministry meetings, my wife had a burial in the back yard. You know the routine, a popsicle-stick cross, some tears, and a very sad nine-year-old boy.
So as I sit here today, another fish, Squirtman, is floating in Melvin’s backyard. I guess I am a glutton for punishment, but maybe this guy will live longer. Besides, fish just want to find a home and a friend that will love them and not see them as a nuisance.
My desire as moderator this year has been for us to once again fall in love with orphaned fish. I trust you have been burdened for all the “Melvin the Squirts” aimlessly swimming in the sea of life. They are everywhere, maybe even right where you are today. When you see them, drop a line, and reel them in; all they want is a place to call home.
Slow down and let them interrupt your life. I need to run, Squirtman is hungry and his bowl is a mess. But most fish are messy aren’t they? Take time today and thank God for the fisherman that took time for you and let you interrupt his life.
Jim Brown is the senior pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind., that ministers to more than 1,200 people each Sunday. His term as moderator concludes with the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches this summer in Tampa, Fla.