Navigating tomorrow with a clear head.
Image courtesy of Ezra Weller, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Some 700m underwater, in oceans all over the globe there’s a strange fish hovering almost motionless, searching the waters for unsuspecting victims. They’ve been doing this since forever without most of us having the slightest clue of their existence. Then in 2004 someone managed to photograph the “Barreleye”, and it’s been freaking us out ever since.
It’s weird that the Barreleye has upward facing cylindrical eyes. It’s also weird that it makes a living by stealing prey from siphonophores (jellyfish-like creatures). But the really weird thing is that while it’s body is like any other fish, it’s head is completely transparent. It’s binocular eyes look out from behind the protection of a clear dome allowing it to sneak up underneath siphonophores and steal prey from between their stinging tentacles.
They are perfectly designed for their high-risk feeding habits. (If you've ever been stung by a blue-bottle, imagine taking that hit in your eye). The see-through dome protects their eyes and makes the best use of the limited light of the deep waters. The design makes perfect sense when you think about it, but who could have thought it up?
This is a great reminder that even the most educated experts have limited knowledge and understanding. It’s a humbling thought, but it can also be comforting. Current reports and opinions on world events are overwhelmingly negative. Bad news sells, but the good news is that it’s always going to be unreliable because of the limitations of human knowledge and understanding. While it’s important to assess information and use it to make informed decisions, it’s pointless living under the oppressive control of the opinions of experts, whose knowledge, like everyone else’s, is limited. Putting our trust in their noise clutters our heads and leaves us feeling overwhelmed and demotivated, unable to navigate our lives with any sense of purpose.
We are not in control, but we don’t need to be. The God who designed us and the Barreleye certainly is. Maybe we could take inspiration from that fish and clear our minds of the unreliable clutter of human opinion. What if we chose rather to focus on God and His purpose for us (Proverbs 3: 5-8)? He is the same God that raised Jesus from the dead, His knowledge is unlimited and so is His power to bring about everything that He desires. Then we can spend our precious and limited time on the things that we can change, and trust Him to deal with those that we can’t. Humble trust and obedience to His word, the Bible, will give us the peace and purpose we need to do our best throughout the unknown of tomorrow.