The Stranger in Smokeland
In his book Lessons from the Upper Room, Sinclair Ferguson provides an allegory he titles “The Stranger in Smokeland”—an allegory he says needs little interpretation. For that reason, I will provide it as-is, without commentary. I think you’ll enjoy it.
The Stranger had lived all his life in the Highlands. Here streams of crystal-clear water run; the flowers and vegetation are luxuriant; the mountain air is pure; the atmosphere is unpolluted. No one who lives here has ever died.
But the Stranger’s father had told him of a distant land where the air is polluted, and the inhabitants die young. The pollution and death are caused by a plant the citizens roll into tube-shapes, light, and place in their mouths, and then they inhale its vapors—they do not realize they are poisonous. Instead, they find their highest pleasure in this; they believe it keeps them healthy and that it protects them and is essential to a good life.
The parliament of the country has never enacted a law to this effect, but it is universally regarded as unacceptable for a citizen not to smoke. Now they have become so addicted to the lighted plant that they can no longer smell the odor it leaves on their bodies, their hair, and their clothes. They think that its effect on their skin and eyes enhances their attractiveness.
The Stranger and his father feel pity for this land. They decide that the Stranger should visit it, instruct its people, offer to rid the land of its pollution, and make a treaty for them that will guarantee clean air, good health, and endless life.
And so, the Stranger comes to Smokeland.
The citizens see that the Stranger never smokes. This makes them feel uncomfortable. He begins to talk to them about a land where no one smokes, where the air is fresh, the rivers are crystal clear, and everyone is healthy. He tells them that in this kingdom no one has ever died. He also tells them that his father, who reigns over the land from which he has come, sent him to Smokeland to set its citizens free from smoking and to rid their land of its noxious atmosphere. The air, he promises, will become pure, their breath will become clean, their clothes will no longer be impregnated with the odor of the plant—they will feel like new people altogether!
But instead of admiring his obvious health and listening to his message, the citizens of Smokeland become angry. They refuse to believe the Stranger; they tell him his claims cannot be true. They deny that they are unhealthy; they enjoy the smell of their clothes; they reject his message.
Nevertheless, despite the mounting opposition to him the Stranger continues to speak. He pleads with them to listen. But this simply angers the people. Now they plan to silence him.
One day they surround him, exhaling their smoke, breathing it over him. “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke like us!” they chant.
He refuses, but they insist. And when he still will not smoke, they surround him in even greater numbers. They press in on him, jeering, blowing the smoke of the lighted plant onto his face and into his eyes. They try to push the lighted tubes of it into his mouth. But he refuses to inhale. They persist. His clothes are now reeking from their polluted smoke, his face is surrounded by their exhaling, and he is covered in their spittle. His eyes are watering, and his heart is longing for relief and for the fresh air of home. But he refuses to smoke.
At last, the Smokeland citizens’ anger flares up into mob-rage at the Stranger’s persistence. Some of them seize him and hold him while others begin to stab at his body with their lighted tubes of the noxious plant. Finally, one of them pours flammable liquid over the Stranger’s head. They take the small flares they use to light the plant, and set his clothes ablaze. He is burned to ashes before them… he has endured the intolerable smoke to the end without yielding to the Smokers. They do not realize that he will rise again, phoenix-like, from the ashes.
(You can purchase Lessons from the Upper Room at Ligonier Ministries or Amazon)
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Christmas Thoughts
Today’s post is sponsored by the Banner of Truth and reflects on a new collection of writings from J.C. Ryle, edited by Andrew Atherstone.
‘What does Christmas mean to you?’ This is a question you hear often during the months of November and December. For some it’s, ‘The best of times’, for others ‘the worst of times’ (to borrow from Charles Dickens). But consider this; many may hear and think of the name of Jesus than at any other time of the year. Christmas can still provide a timely opportunity for the church to share timeless truths to the world at large – as J.C. Ryle did to the people in his villages.
In his introduction to a new collection of writings, Christmas Thoughts, from J.C. Ryle, Andrew Atherstone writes:
‘John Ryle was a warm-hearted pastor and preacher in rural Suffolk, vicar of the little villages of Helmingham and Stradbroke. Often at Christmas and New Year, he wrote an exhortation to his parishioners in the form of a short tract, distributed from house to house. These tracts were hugely popular, eagerly read in towns and villages across England, each running into multiple editions in tens of thousands of copies. Christmas, and New Year, are excellent moments to pause and reflect—as scattered families regather for the national holiday, and as the calendar turns over again, with another year gone forever. Ryle urges us—in the midst of our feasting and festivities and family reunions—to make time to consider our spiritual state and our relationship with God. How is it with our souls? What do we make of Jesus Christ? What will be our future, when all our Christmases are passed?
This little book contains five of Ryle’s most popular Christmas tracts, originally published during the 1850s and 1860s. They have not been issued in this Christmas form since they were first printed more than a century and a half ago. Ryle writes in classic Victorian style, but with a freshness and crispness and direct appeal to readers in every generation. The spiritual wisdom of these Christmas Thoughts is timeless. Ryle challenges us—while we enjoy the wonderful delights of mince pies and mistletoe and mulled wine and music and merriment—to make the most of every Christmas, to consider seriously the person of Jesus Christ and questions of eternal significance.’
Don’t miss this excellent evangelistic resource, especially during a season where the world already has an ear slightly turned to the truth. Order a copy for yourself and one for a friend this Christmas. -
All the Compassions of All the Tender Fathers
We refer to the first person of the Trinity as “God the Father,” and it is important to understand that God’s fatherhood comes before any fatherhood among human beings. In other words, God did not create human fathers and then begin to describe himself in reference to them. Rather, God has always been Father and created human fathers in reference to him.
Thus, when our earthly fathers act in compassion toward their children, they are merely imitating the compassion of the heavenly Father. “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).
Yet only God is infinitely, eternally, and unchangeably compassionate, which is why Matthew Henry can say that “all the compassions of all the tender fathers in the world compared with the tender mercies of our God would be but as a candle to the sun or a drop to the ocean.” Even at our finest moment, we are only ever the palest imitations of the perfectly and wondrously compassionate God.
And yet what a joy, what a blessing, what an honor that we can be that—that we can be even a pale imitation of One so marvelous, so compassionate, and so lovely as our Father. No wonder, then, that we pause on this day to celebrate our fathers and our Father.
(Excerpted from my forthcoming book Understanding and Trusting Our Great God (Words from the Wise)) -
A Conversation with Alistair Begg & Bob Lepine
Last week I participated in a launch event for Seasons of Sorrow that took place just prior to the Getty Music Sing! Conference. I was blessed to have Alistair Begg and Bob Lepine participate in a discussion, then to have CityAlight and Sandra McCracken debut the song inspired by the book, “In the Valley (Bless the Lord).” Overall I though the entire event went very well and I appreciated receiving quite a lot of kind feedback afterward.
The good people at Getty Music were kind enough to record the event and to then make it available to us. Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life is hosting the media and we wanted to share it with you today in the hope that it will benefit you. You’ll find that it unfolds like this: It begins with the trailer for my book, than with me reading an excerpt. Alistair and Bob join me for a discussion about sorrow and suffering, and then CityAlight and Sandra McCracken lead “In the Valley (Bless the Lord).”
You can watch it or listen to it at Truth for Life. (Note the little “Listen / Watch” switch above the player to toggle between audio and video.)
You can also watch it on YouTube, but please note that this version does not include the performance of “In the Valley (Bless the Lord).”
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You can listen to the studio version of the song “In the Valley (Bless the Lord)” at YouTube. It will be available on Apple Music, Spotify, and so on in the next few days.
Finally, you can learn more about the book and find links to purchase it right here.
