There once were two men on a ship. The ship was traveling across the Atlantic ocean from North Africa to South America. It was a rainy night and the seas were pretty rough. The two men decided to go for a walk on deck to check out the seas. One of the men was a kind soul who was trying to help the other man he met on board. The other man was in internal conflict and turmoil caused mainly by his self-pride and selfishness which caused him to behave wrongly towards others...he was regularly trying to take from others and get his way not really caring about how it affected others.
As the two men talked and got near the railing, a large swell tossed the boat and both men were thrown over the rail and into the sea. It was a large ship in a windy storm so their cries for help went un-heard as the ship maintained its course. They kept yelling and waving for about 4 or 5 minutes until it became very clear that nobody heard them and the ship was not stopping.
So there they were, swimming in the middle of the Atlantic ocean at night in rough seas. Things looked very grim. They made it through the night and the seas calmed a bit. Towards the middle of the day, they were getting very tired and were afraid that if another ship did not pass by soon, they would soon drown. Remarkably, it was but a short time later that they saw something floating in the water...and it turned out to be some tree trunks. They were very happy and swam to them and each man mounted a tree trunk...they had survived another day and if the wood kept floating, they might be able to last many days.
It wasn't more than another day that they became very thirsty, and they realized that without fresh water, they would die soon. That evening, when they were nodding off to sleep on their logs, they felt cool drops on their skin...it began to rain! So they gladly formed funnel shapes with their remaining clothing and drank up what water fell. They had survived another day!
The men were filled with fear regarding their survival. They knew at some level that their good luck would eventually run out. They were hopelessly lost at sea.
What they did not know that that there was an island only about 8 kilometers or 5 miles away. They could not see the island due to the curvature of the earth. They could have swam to the island if they just knew where to go...what direction to head in, but they did not.
Three days later, the men were severely dehydrated and very tired. They heard a sound on the water like a small boat, and it seemed like it was approaching. Sure enough, and to their amazement, they saw a small boat heading towards them. When the boat reached them, there was a man paddling the boat who had a way about him that was, well, very special. He said to them, "men, I'd like to guide you to a nearby island and then send someone to bring you home from there".
One man was desperate - he saw his great need - and thus was very excited about the offer and grateful for it.
The other man still only willing to trust himself...still believing that he was his own best way out of this situation, was fearful and thus distrusting of the offer.
The fearful one said, "how can we trust you...I don't see an island anywhere". The special man said, 'well, the island is too far away to see at this distance. You are free to try and swim to the island yourself, but you are very unlikely to make it do to winds and currents and dangers like sharks in this area...are you sure you won't let me help you and guide you to the island?"
The other man said, "yes, please help me, I believe you" and he was pulled into the boat by the special man.
The prideful and fearful man said, "well, thanks, but I just don't trust you...you are different than the kind of person I am used to...I'd just as soon keep my fate in my own control...if you showed up, someone else will probably too and real soon", and he rejected the special man's offer.
The grateful man reached out to the Rescuer and was expecting the Rescuer to put him on his boat. The Rescuer did reach out to him but he did that mainly to help the man let go of his tree and swim after the Rescuer. You see, the Rescuer himself had to swim to the island many years ago, and his journey was more difficult than almost anyone since he did it. But he earned the right to now have a boat and he knew that having to swim to the island was a necessary part of the journey and all who followed him must take.
So, the special man and the grateful man headed off towards the Island. Sure enough, the island appeared on the horizon after some time, and the saved man was rejoicing over it! The special man rowed towards the island and had to navigate through a dangerous reef in order to deliver the man safely to shore. But he did deliver him to the island and let him off so that he could go and try and rescue other people lost at sea. There were a few others on the island that ran to greet the new arrival. The Special man said to the grateful man, 'sir, you did well to trust that I would bring you to a place of safe haven and rescue...you did well to believe I knew the way to the island. A larger ship will arrive tomorrow and take you off of the island and bring you back home.'
Unfortunately for the prideful man, no one else showed up to rescue him. The fearful man floated for another day, and then decided to paddle his tree trunk in the direction that the special man and his rescue headed. He tried for days to find the island, but the wind and current's pushed him off the vector the special man took, and he had no way to verify if he was heading in the right direction. The fourth evening came and with it a strong storm. The waves grew great and rough, and the man could not hang onto his tree trunk. Finally, he succumbed to the sea and drowned.
This is a story of our lives and of the basic choice we face with the life we are given. All of us end up in the sea through our prideful, fearful or selfish behavior. The difference is we place ourselves in the sea, we don't just get their by 'accident'. If we can see that - that we were responsible for our being lost at sea - then we have Hope and the Rescuer might be able to reach us!
We all have a choice to make when we hear the voice of the Rescuer. Will we listen and accept, or will we hear only what we want to hear and ultimately reject him and his offer even while pretending we accept it with some empty religious words about 'receiving christ'?
You, dear reader, are such a person. This web site introduces you to your potential Rescuer. His voice and words are pronounced and proclaimed on this web site is a clear manner.
The question is, what are you going to do with him?
Most reject him and his offer, because it doesn't sound appealing to them. They would rather stay in the water and on their tree trunk because that is what they know, and they don't want to give up control of their destiny.
But the Special Man requires that we give up trying to control our own way in this world, and instead surrender to him and allow him to lead us to the island of Safety. The Special Man requires that we give up the only thing that we think is keeping us afloat in this world, our 'tree' so to speak - self, money, material things, education, careers, other people, 'success', religion - and instead trust in him to guide us Home.
We each choose our destiny. Most think they can swim to the island themselves and thus control their life in this world and end up at the island. Sadly for them, they are wrong.
Who are you?
Have you made enough of a mess of your life - have you hurt or neglected enough people - that your self-pride is starting to crack? Can you see yourself lost, adrift in a sea of your own wrongs and confusion, unknowing and hopelessness? Are you one of the millions lost in religion, which only offers a free ride to a counterfeit island?
Christians and biblians believe a false paradigm of, "believe some stuff about God and you will go to heaven....don't believe the right stuff about God and go to hell". They are only half correct, as is true with so many of their beliefs. As this parable demonstrates, a person ought to trust in the right person in order to know the way Home, and that person is the Special Man or the Son of Man, Joshua of Nazareth...and they must make a difficult effort to follow the Guide. So yes, it is important that you believe what Joshua says about himself, people, and the world we live in, but we must also make a difficult journey to follow after him...any other version of his teachings is false.
Those who are adrift in the sea and who don't encounter the Special Man, but who choose to live a life of love and rightness and compassion and forgiveness towards others can make it to the island themselves...it is possible but much more difficult than allowing the Son of Man to guide you Home to the Island where our Father dwells. The people who send themselves to destruction are those who never see their need of a Rescuer...who turn away from the Special Man when offer's help...who live in bondage to self-pride and fear and selfishness and who insist on trying to make it to the island themselves.
Again, dear reader, who are you?
Please, allow the Leader and Rescuer take you Home and come, join the peaceful revolution and help others experience the same transformation!