The Parable of the Jungle Explorer

Once there was a man who found himself lost in the jungle when it was starting to get dark. “I’ll go this way,” he thought. But when that way proved to be a dead end, he said “I’ll go another way.” This happened several more times, before the man took one step, and plop, he fell down into quicksand. By this time it was almost completely dark.

Thinking his only chance of survival would depend on his wits, he reached for a nearby vine. The vine was so close, and yet he was still too far away to grab it. He stretched his whole body forward as far as he could, but he sank lower. Before long, he saw no way of reaching the vine.

But hope was not lost to him. He saw a tree root to his side, so he changed direction. He got a grip on the root, and was relieved to think this would be his way out. But when he pulled with all his might, the vine broke. Finally, out of pure panic, the man started clawing all around him, and he sank lower and lower until he finally disappeared.

Throughout our lives, we will be met with millions of struggles, big and small. The struggles may appear external, but the solution to all of our problems starts internally. The jungle in this story represents the world and all its many traps.

At every setback, the man believed he would have to save himself from his trouble. By believing this, he got himself more and more lost in the jungle. His panic lead to a series of poor decisions, until finally he met his fate.

In life, we’re conditioned to beleive that we are the hero of our own story, and that our success and salvation begins with our own actions. But this belief will make us sick, and if we never understand the nature of our sickness, the disease will kill us. Our panic keeps us from seeing the hidden answers to our problems that are found in the silence.

What the man in this story didn’t know, was that every morning, a millitary truck drove through the jungle. Because the man thought he had to save himself, he didn’t realize that if he had relaxed and waited until morning, the car would rescue him.

Many times in life, when we find ourselves lost and directionless, it is better to wait for the truth to find us, than to panic and try to save ourselves. Often times, you won’t know what specifically will save you from your situation when it happens, but faith is how you will know your salvation is there–even if it seems far far away.