Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy
I went to college in Atlantic Canada where the people are french and the winters are hard. I think it’s for this reason (the cold thing, not the french thing) that my Bible College had “the fish bowl”.
The fish bowl was basically a breezeway that was built onto the front of the girls dorm to (presumably) protect the ladies from the wind and snow as they were getting their keys out.
It’s true purpose though, was as a location to meet, talk and after a nice dinner at one of the 3 retaraunts in town (McDonalds, KFC or Tim Hortons), to stand in and whisper sweet nothings.
Many first kisses, I love you’s, heartfelt admiration, bitter fights and disagreements, ugly breakups and even proposals have happened in the fish bowl.
However, it was just that. A fishbowl. It is a room enclosed by 4 glass walls. Whatever happens in the confines of the fishbowl are 100% public. Every first kiss and breakup are available for the entire campus to be a part of. In the fishbowl you work on your relationship knowing that at any moment the eyes of 230 people could be staring at your intimate moment, or even walk right into the fishbowl and stop whatever it is that has begun.
I don’t think we’re ever suppose to leave the fishbowl. At college we chose when we would go and stand in the fishbowl. At the time we may not have felt we had much choice because it seemed there was nowhere else to go, but the truth is, we chose that to be the place for first kisses and last words. We chose when we would allow others to see the intimate times of our relationship.
In our journey with Christ, we don’t have that choice. The Bible is pretty clear that we live in a fishbowl, that every aspect about our faith is open for the world to observe, poke and probe.
If we are truly a city on a hill, our faith will not be a drunk in an alley. It will be open for examination and not hidden, profoundly private. The world will see whether or not we are being real with our creator and ourselves or if we are just faking it and have a surface level, “Jesus love me, this I know” sort of faith.
Throughout many Latin American countries, governments have come to the slums and poverty stricken neighbourhoods, especially on the coasts, heralding a love for the poor and offered to paint their houses bright colors of blues, greens, reds and pinks.
The result has been simple, tourists coming in on cruise ships now look at the mountains surrounding the cities and take picture, gawking at how pretty all those small, colorful houses look. But if the tourist would think for a moment, and even take a moment to approach these “cities on the hill”, they would find that the children in those homes are still hungry, the fathers still come home in alcohol induced fits of rage and the water is not safe to drink. All that happens to these “cities” has been an external facelift.
In the fishbowl, a facelift faith isn’t going to work. In the fishbowl, the world will be able to witness our most intimate moments with God. They will see when we struggle with questions or triumph in victory. And at any moment another follower is able to walk into the picture and come alongside us, already knowing how we need their help, because they’ve seen us in the fishbowl, they’ve seen our pain and our joy.
The fishbowl is not a bad place. It’s by watching us struggle and triumph that the world will see that this faith is more than just following ancient, dead words, but it is alive and changing people, and in the end “they will give honor to God” (2 Pet. 2:12).
These “Fishbowl Devotions” are my questions and studies, open to the world to question and comment and grow me in my faith.
I couldn't resist:
7 comments:
hey man. good to read what's on your mind. also, cool idea for "fishbowl devotional." it's got a good ring to it.
do you think there is room for private space that would not have the connotations of being hidden, but neither would be public? is there a distinction you could draw between the social aspect of our faith and the public (on display for all to see) aspect?
The fishbowl is a terrific illustration.
When we are looking in we only see the fish and what it is doing, no excuses from the past.
AP,
Interesting question. I think that there is definately a personal aspect to our faith, a place so intimate that only you and God know about it. After all, Jesus himself told us that aspects of our prayer life are to be kept private (Mat 6:6). But I do not think that this takes us out of the "fishbowl". Even if people do not see what happens in the closet, they should know that we spend significant amounts of time there.
Am I making sense? In keeping with the whole "fishbowl" idea, I guess you could say, even a fishbowl has a decorative castle where the fish can go to be alone.
Good. I like this. You have come so far in your writing.
I also graced your hometown the other day. We actually went to the beach right bye that place we played pool and went for bfast. I forget the name but when I post pictures you will see. It was sure a blast from the past.
Hey Elliot,
Thanks for writing back! I think I have in mind more along the lines of how much do I disclose? I am not seeking to be private, but rather to be public with the few that can handle what I disclose and with whom such disclosure will be salvific--a route to healing, and not more harm.
Perhaps we have different things in mind, because I can appreciate the analogy of the "facelift."
AP,
Can you expand on what you mean by "with the few that can handle what I disclose"?
Are you asking, how much about Christ do we disclose to a person who is not yet interested in hearing about Christ?
I mean the inner workings of who I am and what I am like. As in, how much is safe to let be known of yourself and with whom can it be shared?
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