Are You A Sea Squirt?

          I recently learned some interesting facts about the sea squirt. An odd little fellow, it is often found attached to rocks and shells. Its appearance is like a soft plastic tube, waving with the current. It draws its nutrients from the passing water. Generally, they don’t move or exhibit any behaviour, apart from opening and closing their siphons. One could say the sea squirt lives a passive life.
           
          But passivity has not always been its way of existence. As a tadpole, it has a primitive spinal chord and brain to help it find food and evade harm. It swims well to explore its environment. However, when it reaches adulthood, it settles on its rock and stops growing and exploring. In a rapid, drastic, and complex metamorphosis, the epidermal cells covering the surface of the animal contract and within ten to fifteen seconds, crush the tail, muscles, brain, nerve cord and other sensory structures into tissue debris, turning the sea squirt into the passive adult.
           
           The information I learned about the sea squirt made me realize how important it is that we continue to grow in life, whether we’re seven or seventy. This is especially important in our walk with Jesus. If we aren’t growing in Him, we’re stagnating. I especially like The Passion Translation of Romans 12:2, “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think.” Only God’s Word can reform the way we think. Only God’s Word can rework us from thinking like the world does to thinking like God.

            God’s Word keeps us growing in our faith. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17 KJ21). When Satan and his devils attack, we need to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and stand firmly on God’s Word, no matter what the evil one tries to tell us. 

            In order to continue growing, we need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV). When we listen and don’t do, we deceive ourselves. The apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:18 TLB, to “grow in spiritual strength and become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be all glory and splendid honor, both now and forevermore.”

            So let’s not be like the sea squirt and stop growing. Each day, let’s become better acquainted with Jesus as we grow in Him.