Finding Nemo…(and Adam)

Having a two year old again means I get to watch all the Disney / Pixar movies again…

…and again…and again…

Toy Story and CARS have been Ethan George’s favorites to date but now there is a new up and coming favorite that he is mesmerized by;

Finding Nemo

What an absolutely brilliant movie!  And a good thing too because I end up having to watch it again

…and again…and again…

But the beginning of the film is always heart wrenching for me.  Baby Nemo is having this wonderful life together with his dad.  Dad teaches some rules to Nemo with the goal to keep Nemo safe and their life together intact.  Of course Nemo chooses to disobey and in the process gets captured by some human divers who deliver him to a fish tank in Australia.

Nemo is taken!

What makes the movie work is that the separation between them seems insurmountable. They are forever to be apart…

…and any father watching at this point can feel nothing but anguish and dread.

Nemo’s father is not deterred though. He sets off on a seemingly impossible quest to rescue his boy!  And he shares with all he encounters along his journey that “his son” has been “taken” and he’s going to “find him”!

Sound just a little familiar?

Jesus said that he came to find what was lost. He went into series of stories in Luke 15 to explain what lengths he would go to find what was most precious to God…his children!

In the book of Genesis Adam becomes Nemo.  He was enjoying the world with his father but chose to ignore some guidelines set up for his own safety.

Death took him away from his father but then God began the the journey of Finding Adam!

Instead of calling the Bible “the Bible” (which literally just means “scroll” or “book”) we should just call it what it is.

“Finding Adam”

Together again…forever!

Anyone who watches Finding Nemo knows what we are all waiting for is the end where father and son are reunited.  There are hugs, kisses, and incredible joy as we all know that the sheer hell of dad and Nemo being separated has been replaced by the relief that they will now be together…forever!

Sounds a little like the story Jesus tells of what happens when a father finds his lost son:

“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.

Luke 15: 20-24

A perfect ending to Finding Adam!