Parable of
THE STRANGER
The Only Way Out Is Through
By
Alan L. Foote
Once upon a time, there was a small town nestled in a very, very deep valley. The town itself was peopled with individuals who had lived for years with a constant sense of futility about their lives because their isolated little town was continually ravaged with earthquakes, floods, and all kinds of unhappiness’. The biggest problem, however, to the people who lived in the valley, was that there seemed to be no way out. Day in and day out, everything in the valley was all they had to look forward to.
One day, from out of nowhere it seemed, and much to the surprise and excitement of the people of the valley, a stranger walked into the town square. The man was eating an apple. An apple like no-one had ever seen before.
“Hey, mister, where’d you get that apple,” queried a voice from the gathering crowd.
“Well,” the stranger said, looking around at the crowd, “I got it outside of the town.”
“But, there is no ‘outside of town.’” yelled another.
“Suite yourselves,” the stranger replied matter-of-factly, taking another large ‘chomp’ of his juicy apple and continuing on his way.
Needless to say, the people of the town were perplexed and began to murmur questioningly amongst themselves.
The next day the very same stranger appeared in the town square once again. This time he was carrying fresh water. As before, the people of the town gathered around him. “Hey, mister, where did you get that fresh water?” yelled an impassioned voice.
“I got it outside the town,” the stranger replied calmly, sipping his water.
“But, there is no outside of town,” yelled the angry people. And for having an apple, fresh water, and indicating that both were had ‘outside of the town,’ the townspeople took the perplexed stranger before the town council.
“Explain yourself,” shouted an angry councilman.
“What is it you would have me explain?” replied the confused stranger.
“Why is it that you find it sporting to lie to this people? Why are you telling them there is something new? We all know that there is no ‘outside of town.’
How could there be? There is no way in or out of this entire valley!” bellowed another anxious councilman.
“But, there is,” the stranger said, trying to explain. “I have no reason to lie to you. You’ve seen the evidence, the apple, and the water. “You see,” continued the stranger, pointing to the rolling hillsides surrounding the valley, “the tunnels that dot your hillsides . . . ,” he wasn’t allowed to finish.
“I’ll have you know, mister know it all, that those tunnels are expired mine shafts,” interrupted the mayor. “They lead no-where and are full of frightening, very dangerous creatures.”
“Who told you that they are mine shafts? They aren’t at all. If you go far enough into, what you say are mine shafts, they turn into bridges to the outside world.” advised the stranger.
“That is the most ridiculous thing we have ever heard,” shouted the council defiantly, threatening to hang the stranger.
“Now wait a minute,” pleaded the nervous stranger. “I invite anyone of you to accompany me into one of the shafts to see for yourself. You have nothing to loose – for if the shaft leads ‘nowhere’ as you say, bring me back and do with me as you wish. But, if I am right, you all stand to gain your freedom and find your way out of this most miserable place.”
The town council agreed, and five councilmen were chosen to follow the stranger into one of the dark shafts.
At the appointed hour the following morning, the entire town assembled on the hillside and held their collective breath as the stranger and the five nervous councilmen entered the dark, damp shaft. The further into the darkness they walked, the darker and more foreboding the journey became. So, one by one, four of the five were overwhelmed with fear and returned to the safety of those as fearful as themselves at the entrance of the shaft. The fifth councilman took a deep breath and followed the stranger. The deeper and deeper the two of them went, the darker and darker it got. Then, suddenly, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The stranger had been telling the truth. The frightfully dark, damp tunnel was indeed a bridge – a way out of the valley to a better and more glorious world.
How do I tell you that this is not just a story? For the fact is that in every aspect of our lives, we are all faced with challenges, that at times seem absolutely hopeless – like there is no way out. If we accept that hopelessness – if we accept pacifity, indolence, laziness – all the signs of not really being “Awake,” then we are like the people of the valley who lived year after year in utter despair and futility, never realizing the importance of the fact that, there is indeed a way out - and that a stranger has come, even the Lord Jesus Christ. When we understand that, when we truly come awake to our possibilities, we will have no fear of any of the darkened tunnels in our lives, for ‘the stranger’ has said that they are ‘bridges’ and at the end of the darkness, which is just a short distance, there is a brilliant light guiding us all to a better life.
Yes, it is true, that the only way out is through. And when you get to the other side of your fear, you come to understand that the only thing you had to fear was the fear itself.
THE STRANGER
The Only Way Out Is Through
By
Alan L. Foote
Once upon a time, there was a small town nestled in a very, very deep valley. The town itself was peopled with individuals who had lived for years with a constant sense of futility about their lives because their isolated little town was continually ravaged with earthquakes, floods, and all kinds of unhappiness’. The biggest problem, however, to the people who lived in the valley, was that there seemed to be no way out. Day in and day out, everything in the valley was all they had to look forward to.
One day, from out of nowhere it seemed, and much to the surprise and excitement of the people of the valley, a stranger walked into the town square. The man was eating an apple. An apple like no-one had ever seen before.
“Hey, mister, where’d you get that apple,” queried a voice from the gathering crowd.
“Well,” the stranger said, looking around at the crowd, “I got it outside of the town.”
“But, there is no ‘outside of town.’” yelled another.
“Suite yourselves,” the stranger replied matter-of-factly, taking another large ‘chomp’ of his juicy apple and continuing on his way.
Needless to say, the people of the town were perplexed and began to murmur questioningly amongst themselves.
The next day the very same stranger appeared in the town square once again. This time he was carrying fresh water. As before, the people of the town gathered around him. “Hey, mister, where did you get that fresh water?” yelled an impassioned voice.
“I got it outside the town,” the stranger replied calmly, sipping his water.
“But, there is no outside of town,” yelled the angry people. And for having an apple, fresh water, and indicating that both were had ‘outside of the town,’ the townspeople took the perplexed stranger before the town council.
“Explain yourself,” shouted an angry councilman.
“What is it you would have me explain?” replied the confused stranger.
“Why is it that you find it sporting to lie to this people? Why are you telling them there is something new? We all know that there is no ‘outside of town.’
How could there be? There is no way in or out of this entire valley!” bellowed another anxious councilman.
“But, there is,” the stranger said, trying to explain. “I have no reason to lie to you. You’ve seen the evidence, the apple, and the water. “You see,” continued the stranger, pointing to the rolling hillsides surrounding the valley, “the tunnels that dot your hillsides . . . ,” he wasn’t allowed to finish.
“I’ll have you know, mister know it all, that those tunnels are expired mine shafts,” interrupted the mayor. “They lead no-where and are full of frightening, very dangerous creatures.”
“Who told you that they are mine shafts? They aren’t at all. If you go far enough into, what you say are mine shafts, they turn into bridges to the outside world.” advised the stranger.
“That is the most ridiculous thing we have ever heard,” shouted the council defiantly, threatening to hang the stranger.
“Now wait a minute,” pleaded the nervous stranger. “I invite anyone of you to accompany me into one of the shafts to see for yourself. You have nothing to loose – for if the shaft leads ‘nowhere’ as you say, bring me back and do with me as you wish. But, if I am right, you all stand to gain your freedom and find your way out of this most miserable place.”
The town council agreed, and five councilmen were chosen to follow the stranger into one of the dark shafts.
At the appointed hour the following morning, the entire town assembled on the hillside and held their collective breath as the stranger and the five nervous councilmen entered the dark, damp shaft. The further into the darkness they walked, the darker and more foreboding the journey became. So, one by one, four of the five were overwhelmed with fear and returned to the safety of those as fearful as themselves at the entrance of the shaft. The fifth councilman took a deep breath and followed the stranger. The deeper and deeper the two of them went, the darker and darker it got. Then, suddenly, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The stranger had been telling the truth. The frightfully dark, damp tunnel was indeed a bridge – a way out of the valley to a better and more glorious world.
How do I tell you that this is not just a story? For the fact is that in every aspect of our lives, we are all faced with challenges, that at times seem absolutely hopeless – like there is no way out. If we accept that hopelessness – if we accept pacifity, indolence, laziness – all the signs of not really being “Awake,” then we are like the people of the valley who lived year after year in utter despair and futility, never realizing the importance of the fact that, there is indeed a way out - and that a stranger has come, even the Lord Jesus Christ. When we understand that, when we truly come awake to our possibilities, we will have no fear of any of the darkened tunnels in our lives, for ‘the stranger’ has said that they are ‘bridges’ and at the end of the darkness, which is just a short distance, there is a brilliant light guiding us all to a better life.
Yes, it is true, that the only way out is through. And when you get to the other side of your fear, you come to understand that the only thing you had to fear was the fear itself.