THE GOLDEN FISH

Children in Bosnia-Herzegovina all know the ancient story of the poor woman who caught a golden fish, released it, and in return gained wealth and happiness. This Balkan fairy tale turned into reality for one poor family.

Before the start of the Bosnian war, the Malkoc family lived next to a small lake in the northwestern village of Jezero. One day in 1990, Smajo Malkoc returned from a trip to Austria with an unusual gift for his teenage sons, Dzevad and Catib: an aquarium with two goldfish.

Two years passed and then Bosnian Serb forces advanced on Jezero. The women and children fled; and the men stayed back to resist the attacking soldiers. Smajo Malkoc was killed. When his wife, Fehima, sneaked back into the destroyed village to bury her husband and rescue what remained of their belongings, she took pity on the fish in the aquarium. She let them out into the nearby lake, saying to herself, "This way, they might be more fortunate than us."

Fast forward to 1995. Fehima Malkoc returned with her sons to Jezero. Nothing but ruins remained of their home and their village. Through misty eyes she looked toward the lake. Glimpsing something strange, she walked over to the shore.

"The whole lake was shining from the thousands of golden fish in it," she said. "It made me immediately think of my husband. This was something he left me that I never hoped for."

During the years of killing all around the lake, life underwater had flourished. After their return, Fehima Malkoc and her sons started caring for and selling the goldfish.

By 1998, homes, stores, and coffee shops all over the region feature aquariums containing fish from Jezero. The Malkoc house, rebuilt on its original site, is one of the biggest in the village. Two new cars are parked in front, and the family says it has enough money to quit worrying about the future.

"It was a special kind of gift from our father," Dzevad Malkoc said.

(From the Associated Press story "Family Lives Out Golden Balkan Fairy Tale," San Diego Union-Tribune. June 7, 1998.)

LESSONS

One can never underestimate what a gift of love or an act of kindness might produce. Jesus said, "Give and it will be given unto you" (Luke 6:38). Whenever you give, no matter how small and insignificant your gift might be, God blesses it and uses it to accomplish great things. Jesus took a young boy's lunch and fed a multitude. Have no doubt that he can take whatever we offer to him and turn it into something magnificent.

The Malkocs' story is also a parable of God's relentless grace at work even in the midst of chaos and trouble. While the war in Bosnia was raging, life below the surface of a small lake flourished. We can rest assured that God's will is being done—that his Kingdom is flourishing—even when life on the surface is full of trouble and strife. That is the message of the gospel—the ultimate fairy tale that comes true.

St. Peter's Fish

Fish were a popular food item throughout The Bible. They were taken from the Sea of Galilee, the Nile River when the Israelites were living in the Goshen area of Egypt, the Jordan River, and the Mediterranean Sea. As its name indicates, the Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, did not provide a living habitat for fish.

The photo shows 2 tilapia, also popularly known as "St. Peter's fish," taken from the Sea of Galilee. Along with them are 5 loaves of bread - similar to what Jesus Christ used to miraculously feed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:15-21). He later fed 4,000 from "a few small fish" and seven loaves of bread (Matthew 15:32-38) (see also The Miracles Of Jesus Christ)

Fishing became a major industry for Israel. Jerusalem apparently had a fish market from the time of the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 33:14, Nehemiah 3:3), with the Fish Gate the likely entrance to it.

It was from the ranks of fishermen that Jesus Christ called His first Apostles (Mark 1:16-20), including Peter and John. Fish and fishing were often associated with His ministry, and later were actually used as a symbol of it.

• Jesus miraculously calmed the storm from a fishing boat (Matthew 8:23-26)
• Jesus spoke many of His Parables to the crowds while He stood in a fishing boat (Matthew 13:1-58)
• Jesus once miraculously paid His and Peter's taxes with a coin taken from inside a fish (Matthew 17:27)
• Jesus miraculously had the disciples make a huge catch of fish, so great that their nets were filled to overflowing (John 21:1-14)
• Jesus ate a piece of broiled fish with his disciples after His resurrection from The Tomb (Luke 24:42-43).

One of The Lord's most direct encouragements to those who accept and obey Him, and dire warnings to those who choose to reject His offer of eternal life, used fishing as an analogy:

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth" (Matthew 13:47-50 RSV)

Fact Finder: Did Jesus Christ say that His disciples would become "fishers of men"?
Matthew 4:19

 

by Wayne Blank

The Power of Sex

Sex is emotional thermometer of the quality of a relationship. It is also an important aspect of human relations that couples generally have a difficult time discussing. When it comes to attention freely and openly with each other’s needs and desires.[1]

Good communication is central to a healthy intimate relationship. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to establish or maintain a communication relationship in matters of sex.[2]

This goes especially to the couples to be good communication starts in friendship not in marriage, before marriage a good foundation of sexual communication has to be established which involves the likes and dislikes, ups and downs, strength and weaknesses of the partner. Because without earlier orientation of sexual talk it will always be difficult to initiate it in marriage.

Sexual desire is an interpersonal attitude with most far – reaching consequence for those who are joined by it, cannot be morally neutral. On contrary, it is the experience of sexual desire that we must vividly conscious of the distinctive between virtuous and vicious impulses and most vividly aware that, in the choice between them, our happiness is at stake.[3]

Whichever sexual decision we make it will either bring to us sadness or happiness depending on how smart you are in your decisions.

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[1] David and John, Marriage and the Family, p. 135.

[2] Bryan Strong, Christine Devault, and Barbara Werner Sayad. Human Sexuality (California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1999), p. 242.

[3] Daniel Bonevac: Today’s Moral Issues (London: McGraw-Hill, 2006), p. 69.