I wonder how much compassion you’d have for a fish? In March 2000 a Norwegian fisherman, Harold Hauso discovered an old, blind cod in his nets. He felt a bit sorry for the fish, and it was too thin to eat, so he freed it from the net and let it go. The next week it was back and Harold freed it again. A few days later there was the cod again, caught in Harold’s net. Once more he freed the cod. And the pattern kept being repeated, around 35 times over the next 10 months!
It seems the blind cod has trouble catching food, but he knows that he can easily eat the tiny crabs and starfish which find themselves also trapped in Harold’s net. Harold's compassion for the fish meant he kept releasing it, until a marine park heard his story. The fish now lives in the marine park.
It’s a fine story about the depth of compassion a person can develop for God’s creation. And if a 69 year old Norwegian fisherman can find the compassion to respond to a needy cod, how much more can we find the compassion to respond to the people and creatures around us.
Source: reported by Reuters news service,
January 2001.
Applications: environment, creation, compassion, generosity, servanthood