Put on Your Shell!

Artwork by Daniel Venturo

Once upon a time, there were two small hermit crabs who lived on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean. Their names were Mertz and Ninnis. Now you may think these were funny names, but these names fit the crabs well. In case you didn’t know, there were two men who lived during the early 1900s whose names were Mertz and Ninnis. These two men were explorers in Antarctica. The reason the names Mertz and Ninnis were fitting for these crabs was because these crabs were explorers too. They were not like ordinary hermit crabs who spent their lives scrounging for food on the jungle floor. Both of these crabs had an unquenchable thirst for adventure.

So one day, Mertz and Ninnis said goodbye to all the other hermit crabs on the island, packed up their belongings in little sacks, and set off on a grand adventure. They set up camp on the beach at the water’s edge and here made ready to embark on their quest. The crabs, of course, had a plan. They would find a willing Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish to take them aboard, and on this living boat they would sail across the sea to wherever the wind and ocean currents would take them, exploring all there was to explore as they sailed and bravely facing any dangers they might encounter along the way.

But in order to start out on their quest, Mertz and Ninnis had to do something very important. Hermit crabs, as you know, always wear a shell over their soft bodies for protection. But Mertz and Ninnis needed more than an ordinary shell to keep them safe on this adventure. They needed a shell with exceptional qualities, one that was strong and robust, but also light and flexible. One that was soft and smooth on the inside, but rigid and spiky on the outside. Something to keep them warm and comfortable that would also ward off predators and withstand the wear and tear of the elements. The success of the whole expedition depended on Mertz and Ninnis acquiring just such a shell.

For days, Mertz and Ninnis searched tirelessly for the special shells. They circled the entire island and finally, on the tenth day, they landed on two shells they thought might work. For three more days, Mertz and Ninnis poked and prodded the shells inside and out. They performed numerous tests and experiments, leaving the shells in direct sunlight for hours and submerging them in water. But through all these tests, the shells proved true, and Mertz and Ninnis were at last satisfied. They discarded their old flimsy ones and tried on the new.

“How do I look, Ninnis?” asked Mertz, turning this way and that.

“Great,” said Ninnis, “but does it feel snug?”

“It’s snug alright,” said Mertz. “No danger of falling out of it like our poor friend Scruggs.”

“But at the same time,” said Ninnis, “it’s not too snug. I can curl up comfortably in it and it’s cool and smooth on my skin.”

“Why Ninnis,” said Mertz. “I feel—I feel invincible now! I think we’re finally ready for our adventure!”

And ready they were! It wasn’t long before a good-natured man o’ war floated by. The hermit crabs asked for a ride and the jellyfish allowed them to climb aboard. Then, the man o’ war put up its sail and the crabs were off on their adventure.

And so began the quest a lifetime. If I were to tell you about all the adventures and dangers the two explorers met with on their journey, this story would be too long. But I will tell you about some of them, and I will tell you that those special shells did play their part well. In fact, I don’t think Mertz and Ninnis would have been able to survive without them. The shells really did seem to be invincible.

For example, there was the night of the terrible storm. Waves brutally tossed the jellyfish and his passengers, and heavy rain poured down on them. Mertz and Ninnis huddled in their invincible calcium suits (read about that expression here), and they were warm and dry. The storm could not penetrate their shells’ solid structure. But the waves were so violent, they knocked Ninnis and Mertz right off their jellyfish friend and into the churning sea.

Mertz and Ninnis sank deep into the ocean. They sank all the way down to the sandy bottom. For a little while they huddled together in silence. Then Ninnis said, “Mertz, I’m scared. I feel creepy.”

“Me too,” said Mertz. “I have an odd feeling in my gut.”

Mertz and Ninnis peered anxiously out of their shells. There, off to their left, they saw a huge nurse shark nosing around in the sea grasses for tiny fish and tasty hermit crabs to eat!

“Oh, no, what will we do!?” gasped Ninnis. “He’s coming our way!”

Mertz hastily scanned their surroundings. “I know,” he said. “we’ll camouflage ourselves.”

Mertz and Ninnis covered themselves with seaweed and small shells. Then they curled up tightly in their invincible shells and waited with bated breath to see what would happen. The nurse shark glided right past them! He thought the explorers’ shells were bumpy rocks with algae growing on them. Mertz and Ninnis were safe!

But Mertz and Ninnis were still at the bottom of the ocean with no idea where their living ship was. Fortunately for the explorers though, a Portuguese man o’ war’s tentacles can be over a hundred feet long. As they crawled along the sea floor, they chanced upon the waving tentacles of their host.

Joyfully, the two hermit crabs grabbed the tentacles with their claws and began to climb. The tentacles could not sting their claws and their thick shells once again protected the soft part of their bodies. The crabs climbed all the way to the air-filled float at the top. The storm had stopped and the crabs continued on their quest.

And as they drifted along, driven by the wind and currents, the two explorers eventually made it around the world. They saw icy Antarctica and they saw the jungles of Africa. They saw the bustling coasts of China and of California. They saw exciting things and they saw scary things. And through it all, their strong, flexible, lightweight shells protected the crabs from harm. Those hardy shells were, in fact, an awful lot like shields.

Did you know that the Bible talks about a shield? A shield is part of the spiritual armor God has provided for Christians to protect them from the devil. If you remember my other posts, I wrote about our belt of truth that keeps us on course, the breastplate of righteousness that guards our hearts from evil, and the Gospel shoes that spread peace to all the world. Well, the next piece of armor in the set is the shield of faith. The Bible tells us that we must use the shield of faith to block the fiery darts of the devil (Ephesians 6:16). What are Satan’s fiery darts? Think of it this way. Your mom or dad tells you to do something that you think is silly. Immediately, you begin to pout and to talk back. When you do this, the devil has gotten you to sin and has won a great victory. He has pierced you with one of his darts!

Some of Satan’s most common weapons in his war against Christians are his darts of doubt. He wants to make you believe that God’s Word is not true (see Genesis 3:1). “The Bible can’t be true,” he says. “It’s full of silly stories. Smart people don’t believe the Bible.”

Or, “God didn’t really create the world in six days. That’s silly. Everyone knows that’s not right.”

The moment you start to believe him, the devil has victory. He has wounded you with his dart! What can you do? Why, you can do exactly what Mertz and Ninnis did to protect themselves in their quest—you can use a shield! You can use the shield of faith to ward off the devil’s darts!

What is faith? Faith is believing in God even though we can’t see Him, trusting His Word even when it doesn’t make sense (Hebrews 11:1; Proverbs 3:5-6).

When the devil says, “God’s Word is silly; no one believes it anymore,” the person using the shield of faith says, “I know many people don’t believe God’s Word, but I’m going to trust God anyway because I know He never lies." And that person has just blocked one of the devil’s fiery darts (Hebrews 6:18)!

Or the devil may try to make you believe that God is not good. “If God were really good, and if He really loves you, why do you have so many problems?”

You must defend yourself by saying, “I know it seems like God is not good sometimes, but I know He is and I know He loves me because the Bible says so” (Lamentations 3:25; Psalm 92: 15; John 3:16).

Sometimes the devil tries to make you think that God cannot save you because you are so bad all the time. But you must block this attack by reminding yourself that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is powerful enough to save anybody, and that there is nothing you can do to save yourself—Jesus’ blood cleanses all (1 Timothy 1:15-16; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 1:9).

Whenever Satan tries to make you doubt God, fight back with your shield of faith!

Now, you’re probably wondering what happened to Mertz and Ninnis, the hermit crab explorers. Well, after they had floated all around the world with their man o’ war friend, disaster struck! There was a violent gale and Mertz and Ninnis were once again swept off their boat! As they sank deep into the ocean, tucked snugly in their special shells, a huge net came around and closed over them!

The net belonged to a man and his wife in a boat who loved collecting shells. They pulled the net up into the boat and began to sort through all the beautiful shells they had brought up. They were so happy when they saw the shells of Mertz and Ninnis—they were a rare and beautiful kind of shell. The man and the woman had no idea there were crabs inside the shells, because Mertz and Ninnis were so well hidden. They brought all their shells home and piled them in the yard.

Mertz and Ninnis were terrified, and they remained deep within their shells. But like any other seasoned explorer, the crabs were always on the alert, keeping their eyes and ears open for a chance to escape. Their chance came that evening, when the man and woman went inside for the night. Mertz and Ninnis simply crawled away . . .

The next morning two old salty crusty crabs appeared in the nearby city. Weathered from their long journey, they crawled through the streets as all the people stared in wonder, little knowing that these two small hermit crabs were brimming with intriguing stories of adventure and heroism, having just arrived from a brave quest around the world. The people stared and whispered and pointed, but no one was willing to listen to the stories, because no one believed a tiny hermit crab could have anything good to say. Even if they did listen, I don’t think they would have believed them because they were all smart enough to realize that a hermit crab could never go on such an adventure!

But one day, Mertz and Ninnis came upon a group of children who would listen. Not many people will listen to a hermit crab, but a few select individuals, especially children, realize that even a crusty old hermit crab has more to him than what first meets the eye. A hermit crab can indeed be an explorer; a hermit crab can have a story to tell.

From then on, Mertz and Ninnis lived with those five children. For the rest of their lives they told again and again the exciting stories of the adventures they faced on their quest. And they always told about their invincible shells that kept them safe from every danger, and how they could not have survived without them.

And neither can you survive without your own special shield, the shield of faith. Just like Mertz and Ninnis, never face the day’s adventures without first taking up your shield to protect yourself from Satan’s darts. Never forget to put on your shell!