In 1995, divers discovered large, cryptic geometric shapes sculpted in sandy seabeds off the coast of Japan’s Amami Islands. Who or what was creating these oceanic “crop circles” that measured about six feet across? The mystery remained unsolved for more than a decade.
Then, in 2011, a team of scientists caught one of the artistic culprits in action. It was a white-spotted male pufferfish about as long as a stick of gum. They observed as he darted across the sand, using his body, fins and mouth to move coarser grains and small shells into a ridged outer ring. Inside that ring, finer grains of sand were also carefully arranged to create a nest—a labor of hopeful love that took more than a week of nearly round-the-clock work.
And that was the goal: to fashion a home of such stunning beauty it would attract the eye of a passing female pufferfish. She would then lay her eggs in the center, and he would stand guard until they hatched.
As Christians, we are fishers of men and women. Could the little pufferfish teach us something about our calling? What effort do we exert to attract the people around us to the love of Jesus and the hope of eternity at home with Him? May the beauty of our lives reflect the glory of the Lord (Matthew 5:16).