REPENTANCE: Another Word

The Parable of the Land Cruiser
by Sister Elizabeth Gessel

There once was a wealthy entrepreneur who went on a safari to Africa. During the course of his travels, he came upon an isolated village where life was extremely harsh. The source of water had dried up for this community; consequently, the inhabitants had to travel long distances to find water in order to survive. Additionally, it was a three days’ journey by foot to take their goods to market, and many times the roads were impassable because of mud, rocks, and other debris. This generous, kind man returned to the states and bought a beautiful Toyota Land Cruiser, complete with all the bells and whistles, and had it shipped to the village for their use.

The villagers were excited when the vehicle arrived. They had never seen anything quite like it in their lives. They held a big ceremony to commemorate the Toyota, and gave the shiny key to the chief to wear as a prized necklace. Since they had no idea what an automobile was, it remained in the town square, unused.

Each year they would have a big celebration where they would decorate the Land Cruiser and dance around it to commemorate the day it had arrived. Occasionally when the monsoons came, stranded people would use it as a place of refuge. Villagers eventually took pieces of the vehicle to use – tires made tables and floor mats worked well in the huts with dirt floors. Others took whatever they could get, hoping that little pieces of fabric might bring them good luck. But the real gifts – mobility and easier access to the necessities of living – were never used because the primitive people simply had no way to access and utilize what the vehicle offered.


--What pieces of the Ultimate Gift am I using? How can I learn to access the fullness of its intent? Who do I know that needs to be taught how to “drive?”