Did you ever hear someone say, "We can't picnic on that beach; it's covered with seaweed," or, "There's a good fishing spot, but too much seaweed," or, "Don't swim there; you'll get caught in seaweed"? To ocean shore visitors such statements are common. Yet the good things about these rather ugly plants outweigh their problems, and their part in the ocean is in accordance with the Creator's plans when He made the world and the seas in it.
There are many kinds of seaweed, the most common being the brown kelp. This is a giant species which in Pacific coast waters grows as tall as a 20-story building. Another is known as rock weed. Dulse, in several red-brown varieties, is another, and one drifting around the Sargasso Sea in great masses is called sargassum In this variety live the millions. of small eels that are born each year.
Seaweed can be a problem to someone cruising offshore when it gets tangled in his outboard motor. A homeowner gets upset when he discovers his ocean view is spoiled by dark-brown patches hiding the blue water. But it is very welcome to a sea otter, attaching itself to a strand to keep from drifting while napping, or to a fish escaping from a shark.
The above Bible verse stating "Every creature of God is good," refers to all created things (including seaweed) which, in one way or another, are beneficial to mankind if used properly. Do you know that thousands of tons of seaweed are harvested and sold for millions of dollars every year? It is used by a variety of industries, as well as appearing on the tables of people in many countries as an attractive and healthful food.
Seaweed is often an unseen but important part of glass, soap, vitamin pills and important medicines. Your toothpaste probably has some in it, as well as the pudding and pie your mother makes from store-bought packages. Shaving cream, cosmetics and paint, too, as well as chocolate goodies, ice cream, some candies and a long list of other products have seaweed as one of their ingredients.
Next time you visit the seashore and see whip-like or fan-shaped pieces of seaweed washed ashore, think how the Lord God has made this lowly sea plant a part of His benefits to you, and then thank Him for it.
Seaweed nourishes our bodies, but it is even more important to accept the spiritual food God provides through His Word, the Bible. In it He invites you to "taste and see that the Lord is good" and promises "blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." Psa. 34:88O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8). A man who did so exclaimed, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." Jer. 15:1616Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16).
If you have not received this joy in your heart, read the Bible and find that you, too, may taste and see that the Lord is good."