Hanging out with tadpoles

Few things captivated me more as a child than a puddle of water teeming with tadpoles. I loved watching the swarm move and it fascinated me to catch a baby with legs starting to sprout. Those tadpoles quickly changed from water-dwellers to amphibians, able to live on land as well as in the water.

Being able to live in two places made me think about Jesus’ life. Jesus chose to eat with sinners and tax collectors. He allowed a prostitute to anoint his feet with expensive oil. He chose to hang out with the tadpoles.

Frogs need to stay near water to survive. They maintain their body temperature with a balance of time in the water and time on land. Also, it’s only in the water that they reproduce. If they stay out of the water, they have no babies.

We know that the early church as described in Acts had “favor with all the people” (Acts 2:47). They were amphibious. They flourished in the water and on the land.

I know many followers of Jesus who not only stay on the land, but go far away from the water for fear of being unclean. They don’t want the tadpoles to get any mud on them. They’ve nearly forgotten how to talk to a tadpole and manage to keep tadpoles out of their mind.

How about you? Ready to get your feet wet?