(Image from http://www.impawards.com/2003/finding_nemo.html)After a family tragedy, Nemo and his dad, Marlin, are pretty close. But Nemo is also feeling a little restricted. His dad won't let him do anything adventurous or fun. He won't even let him out of his sight, and Nemo doesn't know the true reason why. He thinks his dad doesn't have any faith in him, when in reality it's just to keep him safe. But then Marlin gives him a chance to get to know some other kids and explore the world a little by sending him to school. Just a little freedom! Nemo's pretty excited.
This is like people in the garden of Eden. They're really close to God, and life is pretty good. There's just one rule: don't eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Nemo's rule is to not go near the Drop Off.
Then his dad follows him to school, and embarrasses him in front of the people he's trying to impress. Out of rebellion, Nemo swims out to sea. He tastes the forbidden fruit.
He thinks the worst thing that could happen is that he'll get in trouble. But he soon finds out what Marlin knew all along: There are many unknown dangers in the ocean.
When Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit, they entered a whole new reality. Now there was such a thing as wickedness in God's perfect world. Their closeness to God was severed. They were cast out of the garden, and worst of all, separated from God, their Creator and Father.
Nemo is taken by a human, and separated from his father as well. He goes far away across an entire ocean, to a dentist's office in Australia.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwRq-N863pU)Marlin doesn't know if his son is dead or alive, but he knows that Nemo can't return to him by himself. If he's going to be reunited with his son, Marlin has to go to him.
Just like Marlin, God knew that there was no way for humans to be reconciled to him unless he went to them. We were lost in a sea of sin, and in order to be reunited he had to dive in to meet us.
So that's what they did: God came to earth, and Marlin went out to sea. They both decided that being reunited was worth whatever it took. Their love was that powerful.
(http://www.cornel1801.com/disney/Finding-Nemo-2003/film3.html)That reunion came at a great cost. Jesus had to suffer immeasurable pain, being tortured to death by the very people he loved. Marlin had to face all his greatest fears, including sharks, jellyfish, getting eaten (by a whale and a pelican), getting lost, and worst of all: reaching his destination only to find that his son was dead (not really, but he didn't know that).
And yet death was not the end, in either case. Nemo ended up in the ocean, and got to be reunited with his father. Jesus rose from the dead, defeated sin, and paved a way for us to be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. And not only was the cost considered worth it in the end, it was considered nothing. Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2). That joy was the reunion of Father and children, which he was looking forward to even then.
(https://redefiningscientists.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/ocean-acidification-and-finding-nemo/)God's love is bigger than an entire ocean. It is as big as he is, because he is love. Wherever he is, there is love. And whatever he is, his love is too: immeasurable, uncontainable, omnipresent, and indescribable. He thought that you were worth all he could give, like the parable of the merchant with the priceless pearl (Matthew 13:45-46). He would cross an ocean of dangers just to meet you where you are and hold you.
Now, there's another character in this story you may have heard of. Her name is Dory.
(http://www.themarysue.com/review-finding-dory-as-good-as-finding-nemo/)Dory is clueless. Some random fish ran into her one day, said he was chasing a boat full of fish-napping humans, and she said "sign me up!" She followed Marlin across the ocean, getting to know him and like him. While she was doing that, some of Marlin's love for Nemo kind of rubbed off on her. She ended up being the one to eventually bring Nemo to Marlin so they could be together.
What does that remind you of? That's right, us. Those of us who have already been reunited with God get to hang out with him, as well as join him on his search for his kids. The more time we spend with him, the more of his love rubs off on us. Eventually, hopefully, we can even experience finding one of his kids and showing them the way back to him.
(https://keskelson14.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/finding-nemo-acting-styles/)"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ!"
Ephesians 3:16-18
