One day when my college friend Pat and I were walking on the beach at Jones Beach, we saw two young boys on a dock looking at a catch of fish hanging on a line from the side of the dock. “That must hurt a lot,” said the smaller boy. “Oh no,” his companion said, “Fish don’t have pain like people do. They don’t feel anything.”

“Yes, they do, “ said Pat quietly to me. She was a biology major. We both stared at the fish and the boys, who ran off down the dock. Pat went on to tell me the reasons that fish experience pain, and I never forgot the lesson.

It came back to my mind years later when Terry, one of my brothers-in-law, and I were canoeing at a family reunion. Terry had been in the Corps of Engineers during the Viet Nam War, and he had been silent about his time there until he started to talk in the canoe. He chuckled and said, “This reminds me of Nam. You know, I was always scared when I was there. I mean always: morning, noon and night.” He paused, and went on, “One day I looked up and a guy from another unit came up to me. We had been in boot camp together. He had just heard that I was here and stopped by, and after that he came almost every day. I don’t know how I would have made it without him. Anyway, we both made it home safe.” I was silent; I had nothing to offer.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:2) Terry and his friend did God’s work in companioning each other in the midst of war.

How easy it is to ignore another’s pain, but the scripture asserts the importance of bonding, both with each other, and with our God. Even a little boy can guess the fish’s pain. Surely God expects us to recognize pain in one another, and to respond as He responded through Jesus, His own son: “And now I give you a new commandment : love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

Love in Him,

Prue