The Message in Some Bottles (A Parable about Scripture)
A parable about scripture for Eugene H. Peterson’s Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity . There was once an island full of many different people living in harmony, prosperous, with good communication, education. and government. The people were bright and curious. They perfected language communication and understanding. “One day, down on the beach, a green bottle rode the crest of a wave and landed on the island. An islander was there and picked it up. He noticed a piece of paper inside, took it out and read, ‘Help is coming.’ … The island-world was completely and happily self-sufficient. He had never supposed that he needed help. All the same, the three-word message touched some level of awareness in him he had no name for. He was intrigued.” Soon other islanders were finding bottles with notes. One note read, “Help will arrive soon. Don’t give up.” Soon people were looking for bottles. “Help left yesterday,” another note read. Another encouraged, ...