海底總動員觀後感：Finding Nemo and Finding Us

王道仁
Finding Nemo is a film about a clown fish father Marlin finding his lost son Nemo. In the film the love, desperateness and perseverance of Marlin touched my heart. Despite rejected by his son, threatened by sharks and lantern fish and injured by jellyfishes, Marlin did not give up. On the other hand, Nemo did not know his dad was coming at first and was depressed. But later on he heard the news of his dad and turned enthusiastic about his escape. Nemo and his father found each other in the end. The joy of finding each other showed how much they love each other.

The effort of Marlin reminds me of the effort God made to find us. In Luke 15 Jesus told a parable of a woman who lost her coin, “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8 NIV) Just as the woman searches carefully, and just as Marlin tried desperately, God also makes every effort to find us. He even gave his most beloved Son to the world and let Him be crucified. Just as it was written in the Bible, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Marlin would give up everything to find his beloved son Nemo, but God gave up he beloved son Jesus to find us. How amazing is the love of God!

And sometimes we are like Nemo. Before he heard of the news of his father, he thought that his father would not come to him and was depressed. At times when we get into trouble, we might lose our faith and think that God has forgotten us. But “are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Luke 12:6-7) Just as Marlin never forgot his son, God never forgets us, even when we are complaining.

The moment Marlin and Nemo found each other was touching. Nemo apologized at once and Marlin also apologized. But the joy of finding each other was so great that none of them seemed to pay attention to those apologies. This is similar to the reunion of father and son in the parable of the lost son in Luke 15. In the parable the son did not even get an chance to finish his apology:1 his father interrupted and started celebration. When we sin against God, sometimes we fear that God might not accept us. Sometimes we worry that our apologies are not sincere enough. But when we are worrying about our sincerity, we probably are sincere indeed. And maybe God does not view those apologies as important as we think: our return is what matters most and the joy is so great that God even celebrates with his angels: “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

Marlin wanted to find Nemo, and God wants to find us. May God help us respond to his love and make us his instrument to find others.

1 His full apology was “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” (Luke 15:18-19) But he was interrupted and did not finish the last sentence in Luke 15:21.