The Riddle of Kemp’s Ridley

Psalm 119:140-141
“Thy word [is] very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. I [am] small and despised: [yet] do not I forget thy precepts.”

In man’s way of thinking, a small animal – especially one that lives in the ocean – tends to be regarded as unimportant. However, in God’s view, all living things are His creation, and not one is ever unimportant. A good example is the smallest of the sea turtles. While most mature sea turtles weigh hundreds of pounds, the Kemp’s Ridley weighs only 60 to 100 pounds.

So little has been known about Kemp’s Ridley that it was not until 1947 that scientists knew that mature members of the species were found only on a beach on Mexico’s coast. Because the eggs are prized by humans as well as by coastal creatures, the population of the Kemp’s Ridley is down to less than a thousand egg-laying females.

However, the Creator has given Kemp’s Ridley some advantages over other sea creatures. The female can lay fertile eggs for several years after she has mated just once. The hole she digs for her nest is 18 inches deep, and she may lay as many as 135 eggs at one time.

Although Kemp’s Ridley was almost completely ignored and unknown to science, God has not treated Kemp’s Ridley as unimportant, nor has He neglected to give this creature special gifts for its survival. Christians may be considered unimportant by the world’s standards, but God does not consider even one Christian as unimportant.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You do not value things in the same way as sinful man does and that not one of us, no matter how small and unimportant in the world’s eyes, may be neglected by Your love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Peter Arnold, “Come Back Kemp’s Ridley,” October, Science 83, pp.68-71. Photo: Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle.