I have previously written about how adult Osprey teach their young to fly and said that it is delicate business because
they really only get one chance to try and there can be no failures. Recently, I saw some video of a mother
river otter teaching her pup to swim. The pups are born without the ability to
swim or dive but their food supply is almost entirely underwater. This necessitates
that they learn to swim so that they can eat.
they really only get one chance to try and there can be no failures. Recently, I saw some video of a mother
river otter teaching her pup to swim. The pups are born without the ability to
swim or dive but their food supply is almost entirely underwater. This necessitates
that they learn to swim so that they can eat.
The video showed the extreme teaching methods
of the otter. The pup did not want to learn to swim. He had to learn to swim.
The mother dragged him down to the water’s edge and threw him in the water. The
pup spluttered his way to the surface as his thick fur kept him buoyant. Before
he was able to truly catch his breath, his mother dragged him down to the
bottom of the pool of water. He struggled to the surface and she plunged him
back down. This recurring process went on for several minutes and appeared
quite cruel to the on-lookers, but at the end of it the pup was grabbing full
strokes of water with his front legs and paws, and was truly swimming and becoming
proficient at diving to the bottom. A few more lessons would be needed but this
pup was well on the way to becoming a star student.
of the otter. The pup did not want to learn to swim. He had to learn to swim.
The mother dragged him down to the water’s edge and threw him in the water. The
pup spluttered his way to the surface as his thick fur kept him buoyant. Before
he was able to truly catch his breath, his mother dragged him down to the
bottom of the pool of water. He struggled to the surface and she plunged him
back down. This recurring process went on for several minutes and appeared
quite cruel to the on-lookers, but at the end of it the pup was grabbing full
strokes of water with his front legs and paws, and was truly swimming and becoming
proficient at diving to the bottom. A few more lessons would be needed but this
pup was well on the way to becoming a star student.
The spiritual lessons are likely obvious to
many, but allow me to make them explicit. We are very much like this pup. We
are born into this world through no fault or favour of our own. We arrive at
the whim of God and the decisions of our parents. We do not know how to swim or
any of the other things we need to do in this world. We do know how to breath
but could never feed ourselves or protect ourselves from the dangers of a cold
night or a busy street. Our parents and our Heavenly Parent drag us into
situations in which we must learn. The lessons are not gentle. In fact, the
lessons are never easy. That ancient
progenitor of hard-ship Job,[1]
could tell us stories of lessons learned from the hard training of God. Job had
wealth, status, family, and health. The Accuser
asked God to let him take it all away and God allowed it. Job learned a lesson
about the nature of life on earth and who God is in relation to God’s creation.
It was not a pleasant lesson – okay, that’s an under-statement – it was an
extremely unpleasant lesson. Job did learn from the lesson. His answer to God is
summed up as, “I take back
everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Not
exactly a, “Thank you for the lessons you taught me, Dad,” but grateful just the same. To put it another
way, Job realized that God is the potter and Job is the clay. “When a potter
makes jars out of clay, he has the right to use the same lump of clay to make
one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into.”[2] Yet,
God is patient and uses even cracked and fragile clay jars for his purposes.[3]
many, but allow me to make them explicit. We are very much like this pup. We
are born into this world through no fault or favour of our own. We arrive at
the whim of God and the decisions of our parents. We do not know how to swim or
any of the other things we need to do in this world. We do know how to breath
but could never feed ourselves or protect ourselves from the dangers of a cold
night or a busy street. Our parents and our Heavenly Parent drag us into
situations in which we must learn. The lessons are not gentle. In fact, the
lessons are never easy. That ancient
progenitor of hard-ship Job,[1]
could tell us stories of lessons learned from the hard training of God. Job had
wealth, status, family, and health. The Accuser
asked God to let him take it all away and God allowed it. Job learned a lesson
about the nature of life on earth and who God is in relation to God’s creation.
It was not a pleasant lesson – okay, that’s an under-statement – it was an
extremely unpleasant lesson. Job did learn from the lesson. His answer to God is
summed up as, “I take back
everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Not
exactly a, “Thank you for the lessons you taught me, Dad,” but grateful just the same. To put it another
way, Job realized that God is the potter and Job is the clay. “When a potter
makes jars out of clay, he has the right to use the same lump of clay to make
one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into.”[2] Yet,
God is patient and uses even cracked and fragile clay jars for his purposes.[3]
So, what do I yet need
to learn? What hard lessons might God have for me? Because of his great love
for me, I can trust that they will be appropriate for this stage of my learning
curve. “He is the potter, I am the clay;” He is the mother otter, I am the pup.
to learn? What hard lessons might God have for me? Because of his great love
for me, I can trust that they will be appropriate for this stage of my learning
curve. “He is the potter, I am the clay;” He is the mother otter, I am the pup.
[1] Read about him in Job 1-42 in your Bible.
[2] Paraphrase of Romans 9:21, 22.
[3] See 2 Corinthians 4:7.