This allegory was written as an illustration of John 8:12 in the Gospel. It is Dmitriy Leo’s story about two sailors on a deserted island.
The Parable “We Need Fire”
A fishing vessel was caught in a severe storm. All night, the vessel was tossed from side to side and carried across the sea until, eventually, completely out of control, it struck an underwater rock and broke apart. Almost the entire crew perished; only three sailors survived because they had managed to put on life jackets. It was dark all around, a strong wind was blowing, and rain was falling. None of them knew what would happen next.
After some time, the first rays of the rising sun appeared on the horizon, breaking through the clouds. One of the sailors, who was more experienced, shouted to the others to start swimming toward the sun. Battling the waves and wind, they swam all day until they reached a small island.
When the sailors reached the shore, they were so exhausted that they could barely get out of the water and collapsed onto the sand. They lay there for half the day. When the first sailor woke up, he began waking the others.
After surveying the area, the experienced sailor concluded that the island was uninhabited and that it was useless for them to look for people there or count on their help. He suggested gathering as many dry branches and roots as possible while it was still light, so they could light a fire in the evening.
As they walked around gathering branches, one of the younger sailors began expressing his dissatisfaction with the idea of building a fire. He said:
– Why do we need a fire if we haven’t eaten or drunk anything for two days? We have no fresh water or food; we will starve to death. We don’t need a fire—we urgently need to look for water and food if we don’t want to die.
The experienced sailor replied:
– You are wrong. To stay alive, we need fire, not food and water. If there is fire, then there will be salvation, water, and food.
Then a third sailor joined their conversation:
“Indeed, my throat is completely parched, and I’m already seeing spots from hunger. Maybe we should go look for food in the jungle or try to find something in the sea while it’s still light.”
The experienced sailor replied:
“Trust me, there will be food and water tomorrow. Right now, something else is more important. Night will fall soon, and we’ll need a fire. I recommend gathering everything dry as quickly as possible, because we still need to light a fire and we have no matches. Surely you don’t want to…”
The youngest interrupted him:
“No, do as you please. You can play Robinson Crusoe, but I’m going to look for water and food. I can’t take it anymore, and I’m not going to starve to death.”
He dropped the branches onto the sand and headed toward the jungle. The experienced sailor shouted after him, telling him to come to his senses and return before it was too late, because the jungle was dangerous. But the young sailor confidently reached the thicket and disappeared into it. Then the other sailor also wanted to follow his companion, but the experienced sailor grabbed him by the sleeve and said:
“Believe me, I know what I’m doing. We need fire and light because it will be dark and unsafe around us. I don’t have time to explain everything to you now, but trust me.”
“All right, I’ll stay.”
It grew dark very quickly, and the sailors began building a fire. After some time, they managed to ignite the grass, followed by the leaves and branches. Clouds covered the sky, a strong, cold wind rose, and a light drizzle began, but by the fire it was warm, bright, and safe.
In the middle of the night, while the sailors were warming themselves by the fire, a gunshot rang out far out at sea, and a flare rose into the sky. The experienced sailor quickly jumped to his feet and began raking all the firewood they had gathered into the flames. Within a few minutes, a huge bonfire was blazing on the shore, visible far out at sea.
Soon the sailors saw the lights of a ship heading toward the island. They were rescuers. They came ashore and were overjoyed to find the sailors alive.
The experienced sailor immediately told them about the third sailor who had gone into the jungle and asked them to find him. The rescuers contacted their command by radio and looked for ways to conduct the search. Unfortunately, because it was night and there were few rescuers, the search was postponed until dawn. Both sailors were quickly taken aboard the rescue ship, where they ate and fell asleep.
By the end of the following day, the rescue operation was over. The third sailor was found, and his body was brought aboard the ship. The sailor was found beside a date palm with a bunch of dates in his hand, but there was a large snakebite mark on his leg. He was dead.
Everyone was deeply distressed that day. When evening came, the young sailor entered the experienced sailor’s cabin and thanked him for saving his life. Shaking his head, he said:
– Indeed, through the fire, salvation, water, and food came to us. Thank you.
The experienced sailor quietly replied:
– Thank God that He granted us this salvation.
Author: Dmitriy Leo
