Sponges

Do you own something precious to you? Maybe it's a Bible, a photograph of a friend or family member, a special piece of jewelry, an award you've received, or the most cuddly of stuffed animals. Where do you usually keep this cherished item? Do you sleep with it, put it on the end-table next to your bed, lock it in a safe deposit box, hang it on a wall for all to see?

Jesus has precious things, too. One such treasure is made of glass and is hidden beneath millions of tons of frigid, inky-black water! "An odd spot to put a fragile creation," we might wonder.
Among the numerous animals found in the ocean are the silent, sessile sponges. Sponges come in three varieties: those fashioned with glass, those composed of calcium, and those made, in part, of a rubbery material known as spongin. Most sponges fall into this last category (the natural bath sponge is an example).

The Venus flower basket,* a sponge Jesus formed from finely spun glass, is considered to be one of the most delicate and lovely of Christ's underwater creatures. God very carefully
placed it on the ocean bottom, two miles beneath the surface of the sea. This sponge has an amazing ability to withstand the unbelievable weight of water bearing down upon it, but it cannot tolerate foreign footsteps. Fortunately, the bottom of the sea has no elephants, or trucks, or carefree children that might inadvertently crush its fragile form.

Sponges live a simple existence. They have no nervous system, and therefore no way of communicating with the outside world. They are, however, far from simple in design. A typical sponge is composed of hundreds of thousands of living cells, and thousands of tiny, sharp-pointed "bones," called spicules. Cells and spicules mysteriously cooperate to form the living body of the sponge which God created in the general shape of a tube. Resembling fingers, vases, cylinders, fans, or funnels, sponges can take on a number of fascinating designs!

There are specialized cells (pinacocytes-pronounced PIN - ah - ko - sights) lining the outside of the sponge's body which secrete bad-tasting or poisonous chemicals, preventing the sponge from becoming another animal's dinner. These invisible chemicals mirror the protection Christ gives us, as we shall see in a moment.

There are also cells (choanocytes-pronounced KO - ah - no - sights) lining the inside of the sponge which possess flagella, or microscopic whip-like "arms." A sponge is riddled with holes and it pumps water through its body to obtain minute bits of food and oxygen. These flagella draw water in through the sponge's numerous pores, and out an opening in the top of the sponge, which is known as the osculum.

Jesus carefully crafted the glassy frame of the Venus flower basket using a third type of cell known as the amoebocyte (pronounced ah - ME - bo - sight). It is the amoebocyte that secretes the individual glass building blocks (spicules) of this sponge.

Using the amoebocyte, Christ constructs an exquisite sponge so precisely that it would be impossible for today's artisans to reproduce it! Despite its delicate frame, however, the Venus flower basket is structurally quite sound....Only God can make a sponge, any sponge. Its existence testifies to the very presence of the Creator. In a sense, a sponge sits on holy ground, because the One Who is holy is at hand!

Possibly the most fascinating aspect of the Venus flower basket is that it becomes the life-long home of a certain kind of shrimp (Spongicola sp.). Early in its existence, the sponge allows one female and one male shrimp to enter its central cavity. Here, they spend the rest of their lives in intimate contact with each other relying totally upon the sponge to provide them nourishment. Because their house is fashioned with glass, the shrimp can watch bioluminescent fish that happen to swim by. And predators may very well see them inside the sponge-no worries, mate-the shrimp are beyond reach of their enemies!

Using advanced equipment and boats, we have discovered the treasure of the Venus flower basket's beauty deep within the heart of the sea. Its real value, however, lies in the illustrations it presents: Christ's ideal for marriage and His love for the Church (PLEASE read Ephesians 5:22-33). It is curious that the shrimp are not strong enough to break free of the glassy confines of the sponge, yet it would be easy for an external force, say a shark, to bite open their elegant apartment. So too with marriage! When a husband and a wife focus their love on one another they are safe. Like the shrimp, they can see the dangers of the world, but are not necessarily affected by them. Marriages are destroyed when an outside influence (pride in work, pursuit of material gain, want of another) breaks through the sacred construction of this fragile sanctuary.

The symbiotic partnership between sponge and shrimp is also a divinely rendered picture of our union with God through Jesus Christ. Are we willing to enter into an eternal relationship hand-in-hand with Jesus in the same way the shrimp willingly choose to enter the cavity of the sponge? Will we allow the Heavenly Father to take control of our lives, thus hemming us in-behind and before-with His gentle hands, and nourish us with His forgiving love as the sponge feeds the shrimp? We are most precious to Jesus, and He does want us to follow Him (John 10:27)! Will we? Are we willing to commit our lives to Christ, obey Him (John 14:15), and be covered by His pure and holy righteousness (Romans 4:6-8), just as the shrimp are delicately protected from the unknown and dangerous expanse of ocean by a garment of glassy white?

Oh, what a marvelous secret hidden in such a lowly creature! Great is Christ our Creator!

*Euplectella aspergillum