Parable of the Two Ships


© Copyright 2006 by Aliensanctuary


Two ships were waiting one evening at the docks in the Land of the Shadow of Death, about to set sail in the morning for a better, brighter place. One of the ships was a huge luxury liner, so big it was more like a floating city. It was called the “Good Times Pleasure Cruise”. The other ship was dwarfed by it’s massive neighbor. It was a quaint wooden fishing ship, with clean white sails flapping loosely in the cool ocean breeze. It was called the “Upward Bound”. Passengers were already beginning to board both ships for the long, dangerous journey across the wide ocean to the Promised Land, a place free of disease and hunger and death, a land where there were only beauty, love, happiness, and peace.

Both captains stood at the gates by their ships, welcoming the passengers aboard. Next to the captains were signs informing the passengers of the rules, what they could bring, and what they could expect on the journey.

The sign for the Good Times Pleasure Cruise read:

1. There are no rules on this ship, but you can make up some if you wish.
2. No baggage limits. Bring anything you want.
3. Any religion is welcome, but religion is not required.
4. Every kind of entertainment will be provided. Use your imagination.

The sign for the Upward Bound read:

1. Bring only your Bible. You will need it to know what to do in case of trouble.
2. Everything else will be provided.
3. Expect to work hard, sleep hard, study hard, and pray hard.
4. Everyone is expected to be an active crew member. There will be no slackers.

A boy and a girl slowly walked up to the docks shortly after dusk. They were twins. At first, all they could see was the huge cruise ship lit up by spotlights moving back and forth, up and down. The ship was decorated with many bright flags, twinkling colored lights, and high overhead was a dazzling fireworks display. They stood before its captain at the gate, just looking in wonder at the enticing sights.

The captain of this ship was dressed like royalty, wearing a fine uniform complete with a captain’s hat, gold buttons, and many medals. “Don’t pay any attention to that little wooden wash tub over there,” he said as he pointed towards the Upward Bound. “It’s too small to be safe, and as soon as a big wave hits it, it will sink to the bottom like a rock. This magnificent ship of mine is indestructible. This ship is going through to the Promised Land.” When he saw the twins just standing there, looking, the captain told them, crossly, “ Keep moving or get out of here, kids. You’re slowing the line down.”

After they left the crowded gate, the twins walked up to the much smaller fishing ship, its white sails shimmering in the moonlight. Here, there were no lines of people waiting impatiently at the gate, jostling each other, trying to get ahead of each other so they could have a room with a window. Both stood before the captain of the Upward Bound, who was clean cut, but dressed like a common fisherman. There were no gold buttons, no medals, and no captain’s hat.

“Welcome aboard,” he said with genuine affection. “Don’t be fooled by the size and dazzle and popularity of the other ship,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at it. “It’s poorly designed and built with inferior workmanship and materials. It cannot withstand the storms that we will face on the long and difficult journey to the Promised Land. It’s captain is taking a great risk, because there are no life boats or life jackets onboard. He thinks they’re a waste of valuable space that he needs for all of the passengers and cargo he’s taking on.”

The captain of the Upward Bound turned to look at his own rustic little ship. “I designed and built this sturdy wooden fishing ship myself,” he said. “I’ve already tested it. It’s unsinkable.”

“Father and Mother would have wanted us to take this ship,” the twins said to each other at the same time after looking at the Upward Bound. Leaving all of their baggage on the dock, they boarded the Upward Bound carrying only their Bibles, and with the help of their kind captain, found their quarters. There was enough room on the ship for about one-hundred souls.

Both ships left port the next morning. For many, many days the weather was clear, and although the cruise ship had much, much more power from its huge engines, the little sailing ship easily kept alongside. Every evening the music and shouts and laughter and screams of partygoers drifted across the water from the cruise ship to the fishing boat.

The crew of the Upward Bound had to work around the clock in shifts to keep the ship’s sails trimmed properly and in good repair, it’s brass polished, and everything else spotlessly clean. When they weren’t working, they were sleeping, eating, or studying their Bibles. The captain said there was some very important information in their Bibles that they would need to know to keep them safe in times of trouble.

Several weeks into the journey, dark storm clouds peeked over the horizon, slowly building up into massive thunderheads. No one on the Good Times Pleasure Cruise paid much attention to the warning rumbles of thunder. They were having too much fun.

Everyone on the Upward Bound lowered the sails, checked and rechecked the lines, and fastened down or stowed away everything loose. “Hold On,” they read in their Bibles just before the storm hit.

“Everyone below deck, now,” the captain ordered. It’s time to close the hatches and put out the oil lamps for safety.” It was so dark inside of the ship once the lamps were blown out. But an amazing thing happened. Hanging on one of the walls was a cross that glowed with blue-white light, bright enough that they could see each other. The captain remained on the top deck in the control room, keeping the ship on course.

The wind and the waves picked up, the lightning flashed, and deafening roars of thunder shook the whole world. Now walls of water swept towards the ships, intent on destroying them and everyone on them. When the big waves hit the cruise ship broadside, it rang like a funeral bell, frightening everyone on board.

The Upward Bound was so light that it floated on top of the waves like a bobbing cork. Everyone held on as the ship pitched up and down, and side to side. “This is fun!” squealed the twins as the boat shot up and down the hills and valleys of the angry sea.

Suddenly, the mother of all waves loomed up in the distance, lit up by flashes of brilliant lighting. “Hold on tightly, everyone,” the Upward Bound’s captain ordered over the loudspeakers. The ship was pointed up nearly vertically as it rode up the massive mountain of water. Moments later, the ship’s bow crested the wave, and now pointed downward nearly vertically as it began its descent into a great sea canyon. Unless they held tightly onto something, they would have been tossed about and probably seriously injured.

When they heard the explosion and crashing and ripping of metal, the crew of the Upward Bound knew what had happened . At the peak of the mountain of water, the Good Times Pleasure Cruise broke completely in half, leaking fuel and possessions everywhere. Both halves slowly bobbed up and down on the downward journey, jagged, burning ends pointing skyward, each time sinking deeper and rising less. Soon, both halves sank below the waves, hissed as the flames were extinguished, and plunged to the black depths, nevermore to be seen. Because there was no life saving equipment, there were no survivors.

During the night, the storm subsided, and the travelers on the Upward Bound climbed on the top deck to see the most beautiful sunrise they had ever seen. In the distance they could see the tall form of a great, flat-topped mountain. “It’s the Promised Land,” the twins shouted in unison when they saw the golden light blazing from the mountain.

Before landfall, a strange being came out of the control room. It’s face shone as bright as the sun, and brilliant rays of light came from holes in its hands and feet, and a hole in its side. It was wearing a beautiful white robe with a golden belt around its chest. It was their captain, now transformed into a being of light.

Now the sound of many shouts and cheers and beautiful music greeted their ears. On the shore were countless Shining Ones, looking very much like the captain, except there were no holes in them for light to escape from. They were welcoming the captain and crew of the Upward Bound.

When the ship docked, everyone left the ship and stood, surrounded by the Shining Ones, on a crystal plain. To each one of the crew members the captain gave a shining white robe, a bright, golden crown, and a palm branch, and said, “Welcome to the Promised Land. You have all worked hard for no pay, a little food, and only the clothes on your backs, and now it’s time to receive your reward.”

As soon as they held their robes up against themselves, their old work clothes disappeared, replaced by their new robes. At the same time, their faces, too, began to shine like the sun, and even though the light from the others was so bright, it did not hurt their eyes. After everyone received their gifts, a great shout shook the ground, and crowns and palm branches rained down in a golden-green shower of victory.

Following the celebration of their successful journey, the captain once again boarded his weathered, battered fishing ship. His happy crew turned back to look one last time at it. Suddenly, it began to creak and bend and shake and grow tall. Soon, their little ship was no longer an old fishing boat, but was transformed into a tall, powerful flying machine. Their captain was at the top, sitting on a canopied, sky-blue seat, surrounded by a beautiful rainbow-colored sphere. “Our old ship looks like a magnificent throne, now,” one of the crew members said.

When he held up his hand to wave goodbye, thick clouds billowed out from below the four four-faced robots at the base of his craft. Four huge wheels began to whir as the sound of many thunders shook the ground, and in a moment, the captain roared up and across the sky on a pillar of lightning and fire and smoke and cloud, and was gone.

“Where did he go?” the twins asked one of the many Shining Ones who had welcomed them. They watched their captain streaking across the sky at great speed towards the great, flat-topped mountain.

“He is returning to his Father on Mt. Zee-own. They’re very close, you know,” one of the Shining Ones answered. “Soon, your captain will become the ruler of the Promised Land. He has taken away everything evil, and will dry your tears and make you well and happy, forever.

And so the twins and the rest of the crew of the Upward Bound did live happily ever after, with their kind captain in the Promised Land. Soon, they no longer remembered how hard and sad life was in the Land of the Shadow of Death. Every day brought a new wonder for them to delight in. Every day they loved their captain and his good father just a little more. Every day they understood a little more clearly how much it cost their captain to leave the Promised Land and rescue them from the Land of the Shadow of Death. “That’s where the holes in his hands and feet and side came from,” the twins said.

For those still living in the Land of the Shadow of death, the captain has a message. “Hold tightly onto everything that is Good and True. Don’t take the easy, selfish, wicked journey on the Good Times Pleasure Cruise that’s headed for destruction. Travel on the Upward Bound, and your kindness to others and your hard work for them will be rewarded in the Promised Land. Take heart and be of good courage, because we know you can make the journey safely. May God be with you.”

I recently and unexpectedly found the original, handwritten version of this parable from 1991. Following this post is the upgraded version which includes a few details I had forgotten while trying to reconstruct it from memory.

Parable of the Two Ships

© Copyright 1991, 2006 by Aliensanctuary

Two ships were waiting one evening at the docks in the Land of the Shadow of Death, about to set sail in the morning for a better, brighter place. One of the ships was a huge luxury liner, so big it was more like a floating city. It was called the “Good Times Pleasure Cruise”.

The other ship was dwarfed by it’s massive neighbor. It was a quaint wooden fishing ship, with clean white sails flapping loosely in the cool ocean breeze. It was called the “Upward Bound”. Passengers were already beginning to board both ships for the long, dangerous journey across the wide ocean to the Promised Land, a place free of disease and hunger and death, a land where there were only beauty, love, happiness, and peace.

Both captains stood at the gates by their ships, welcoming the passengers aboard. Next to the captains were signs informing the passengers of the rules, what they could bring, and what they could expect on the journey.

The sign for the Good Times Pleasure Cruise was huge, with computer-controlled words and moving figures that traveled across the screen, and flashing lights that chased around the outside edges. It read:

1. There are no rules on this ship, but you can make up some if you wish.
2. No baggage limits. Bring anything you want, including all of your possessions.
3. Any religion is welcome, but religion is not required.
4. Every kind of entertainment will be provided. Use your imagination. We have amusement parks, theaters, the world’s biggest waterslide, gambling, horse-racing, a ski slope, every kind of sport, and so on. The list is endless. We want you to have a good time on your journey to the Promised Land.
5. Do anything you want, or do nothing at all.
6. Every meal is a feast. Eat all you can, all of the time.
7. Every guest will receive $100,000 to spend on themselves for their own pleasure.

The small, rustic wooden sign for the Upward Bound read:

1. Bring only your Bible. You will need it to know what to do in case of trouble.
2. Everything else will be provided.
3. Expect to work hard, sleep hard, study hard, and pray hard.
4. Everyone is expected to be an active crew member. There will be no slackers.

A boy and a girl slowly walked up to the docks shortly after dusk. They were twins. At first, all they could see was the huge cruise ship lit up by spotlights moving back and forth, up and down. The ship was decorated with many bright flags, twinkling colored lights, and high overhead was a dazzling fireworks display. They stood before its captain at the gate, just looking in wonder at the tempting sights.

The captain of this ship was dressed like royalty, wearing a fine uniform complete with a captain’s hat, gold buttons, and many medals. “Don’t pay any attention to that little wooden wash tub over there,” he said as he pointed towards the Upward Bound. “It’s too small to be safe, and as soon as a big wave hits it, it will sink to the bottom like a rock. This magnificent ship of mine is indestructible. This ship is going through to the Promised Land.” When he saw the twins standing there, just looking, the captain told them, crossly, “ Keep moving or get out of here, kids. You’re slowing the line down.”

After they left the crowded, noisy gate to the big cruise ship, the twins walked up to the much smaller fishing ship, its white sails shimmering in the moonlight.

Here, there were no lines of people waiting impatiently at the gate, jostling each other, trying to get ahead of each other so they could have a room with a window. Most of these people laughed or sneered when they looked over at the Upward Bound. “It’s too quiet and so boring,” they said. “We want to take life easy and be comfortable, spend all that money on ourselves, and have a good time on our way to the Promised Land. Whoever rides that wooden tub is going to miss out on a really big party when we get there, because it isn’t going to make it.”

The twins stood before the captain of the Upward Bound, who was clean cut, but dressed like a common fisherman. There were no gold buttons, no medals, and no captain’s hat.

“Welcome aboard,” he said with genuine affection. “Don’t be fooled by the size and dazzle and popularity of the other ship,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at it. “It’s poorly designed and built with inferior workmanship and materials. It cannot withstand the storms that we will face on the long and difficult journey to the Promised Land. It’s captain is taking a great risk, because there are no life boats or life jackets along. He thinks they’re a waste of valuable space that he needs for all of the passengers and cargo he’s taking on.”

The captain of the Upward Bound turned to look at his own rustic little ship. “I designed and built this sturdy wooden fishing ship myself,” he said. “I’ve already tested it. It’s unsinkable.”

“Father and Mother would have wanted us to take this ship,” the twins said to each other at the same time after looking at the Upward Bound. Leaving all of their baggage on the dock, they boarded the Upward Bound carrying only their Bibles, and with the help of their kind captain, found their quarters. There was enough room on the ship for about one-hundred souls.

In the morning, a loud whistle blew, and both ships pulled up their anchors and left port. For many, many days the weather was clear, and although the cruise ship had much, much more power from its huge engines, the little sailing ship easily kept alongside. Every evening the music and shouts and laughter and screams of partygoers drifted across the water from the cruise ship to the fishing boat.

The crew of the Upward Bound had to work around the clock in shifts to keep the ship’s sails trimmed properly and in good repair, it’s brass polished, decks mopped, and everything else spotlessly clean. When they weren’t cleaning, they were catching fish, cooking meals, eating, sleeping, or studying their Bibles. The captain said there was some very important information in their Bibles that they would need to know to keep them safe in times of trouble. No one complained about the hard work, because they were all very grateful to the captain for providing a such a good little ship to take them to the Promised Land.

Suddenly, the loudspeakers on the Good Times Pleasure Cruise blared, “Man Overboard! Man Overboard!” Someone had jumped from the cruise ship and was trying to swim to the Upward Bound. “Help Me!" a woman cried out over and over. “Save Me!” she wept, as she thrashed in the cold, deep ocean. The captain of the Upward Bound immediately changed course and steered towards the gasping, drowning, woman, crying out so desperately for help. As soon as the captain pulled her up and out of the water, everyone onboard cheered, gave her some dry clothes and a hug, and something warm to drink. The captain kindly gave up his quarters so the rescued woman had a place to sleep.

Several weeks into the journey, dark storm clouds peeked over the horizon, slowly building up into massive thunderheads. No one on the Good Times Pleasure Cruise paid much attention to the warning rumbles of thunder. They were having too much fun.

Everyone on the Upward Bound lowered the sails, checked and rechecked the lines, and fastened down or stowed away everything loose. “Hold On,” they read in their Bibles just before the storm hit.

“Everyone below deck, now,” the captain ordered. It’s time to close the hatches and put out the oil lamps for safety.” It was so dark inside of the ship once the lamps were blown out. But an amazing thing happened. Hanging on one of the walls was a cross that glowed with blue-white light, bright enough that they could see each other. The captain remained on the top deck in the control room, keeping the ship on course.

The wind and the waves picked up, the lightning flashed, and deafening roars of thunder shook the whole world. Now walls of water swept towards the ships, intent on destroying them and everyone on them. When the big waves hit the cruise ship broadside, it rang like a funeral bell, frightening everyone on board.

The Upward Bound was so light that it floated on top of the waves like a bobbing cork. Everyone held on as the ship pitched up and down, and side to side. “This is fun!” squealed the twins as the boat shot up and down the hills and valleys of the angry sea.

Suddenly, the mother of all waves loomed up in the distance, lit up by flashes of brilliant lighting. “Hold on tightly, everyone,” the Upward Bound’s captain ordered over the loudspeakers. The ship was pointed up nearly vertically as it rode up the massive mountain of water. Moments later, the ship’s bow crested the wave, and now pointed downward nearly vertically as it began its descent into a great sea canyon. Unless they held tightly onto something, they would have been tossed about and probably seriously injured.

When they heard the explosion and crashing and ripping of metal, the crew of the Upward Bound knew what had happened . At the peak of the mountain of water, the Good Times Pleasure Cruise broke completely in half, leaking fuel and possessions everywhere. Both halves slowly bobbed up and down on the downward journey, jagged, burning ends pointing skyward, each time sinking deeper and rising less. Soon, both halves sank below the waves, hissed as the flames were extinguished, and plunged to the black depths, nevermore to be seen. Because there was no life saving equipment, there were no survivors.

When the captain announced the sinking of the Good Times Pleasure Cruise, there were no dry eyes among the crew. Even the captain wept. Everyone knew and loved someone who had chosen the wrong ship.

During the night, the storm subsided, and the travelers on the Upward Bound climbed on the top deck to see the most beautiful sunrise they had ever seen. “I see land!” one of the children called out from the crow’s nest, high above the main deck. In the distance everyone could see the tall form of a great, flat-topped mountain. “It’s the Promised Land,” the twins shouted in unison when they saw the golden light blazing from the mountain. After the sails were lowered, the ship slowly drifted towards the harbor.

Just before landfall, a strange being came out of the control room. It’s face shone as bright as the sun, and brilliant rays of light came from holes in its hands and feet, and a hole in its side. It was wearing a beautiful white robe with a golden belt around its chest. “Welcome Home,” it said in a familiar voice. It was their captain, now transformed into a being of light.

Now the sound of many shouts and cheers and beautiful music greeted their ears. On the shore were countless Shining Ones, looking very much like the captain, except there were no holes in them for light to escape from. They were welcoming the captain and crew of the Upward Bound.

After docking, everyone left the ship and stood, surrounded by the Shining Ones, on a crystal plain. To each one of the crew members the captain gave a shining white robe, a bright, golden crown, and a palm branch, and said, “Welcome to the Promised Land. You have all worked hard for no pay, a little food, and only the clothes on your backs, and now it’s time to receive your reward.”

As soon as they held their robes up against themselves, their old work clothes disappeared, replaced by their new robes. At the same time, their faces, too, began to shine like the sun, and even though the light from the others was so bright, it did not hurt their eyes. After everyone received their gifts, a great shout shook the ground, and crowns and palm branches rained down in a golden-green shower of victory.

Following the celebration of their successful journey, the captain once again boarded his weathered, battered fishing ship. His happy crew turned back to look one last time at it. Suddenly, it began to creak and bend and shake and grow tall. Soon, their little ship was no longer an old fishing boat, but was transformed into a tall, powerful flying machine. Their captain was at the top, sitting on a canopied, sky-blue seat, surrounded by a beautiful rainbow-colored sphere. “Our old ship looks like a magnificent throne, now,” one of the crew members said.

When he held up his hand to wave goodbye, thick clouds billowed out from below the four four-faced, six-winged robots at the base of his craft. Four huge wheels began to whir as lightning and the sound of many thunders shook the ground, and in a moment, the captain roared up and across the sky on a pillar of fire and smoke and cloud, and was gone.

“Where did he go?” the twins asked one of the many Shining Ones who had welcomed them. They watched their captain streaking across the sky at great speed towards the great, flat-topped mountain.

“He is returning to his Father on Mt. Zion. They’re very close, you know,” one of the Shining Ones answered. “Soon, your captain will become the ruler of the Promised Land. He has taken away everything evil, and will dry your tears and make you well and happy, forever.”

And so the twins and the rest of the crew of the Upward Bound did live happily ever after, with their kind captain, in the Promised Land. Soon, they no longer remembered how hard and sad life was in the Land of the Shadow of Death. Every day brought a new wonder for them to delight in. Every day they loved their captain and his good father just a little more. Every day they understood a little more clearly how much it cost their captain to leave the Promised Land and rescue them from the Land of the Shadow of Death. “That’s where the holes in his hands and feet and side came from,” the twins said.


For those still living in the Land of the Shadow of death, the captain of the Upward Bound has a message. “Hold tightly onto everything that is Good and True. Don’t take the easy, selfish, wicked journey on the Good Times Pleasure Cruise that’s headed for destruction. Travel on my ship, and your kindness to others and your hard work for them will be rewarded. Tell everyone you meet to join us on the amazing journey to the Promised Land, where nothing bad will ever happen again, and everyone can live happily ever after.

Take heart and be of good courage, because we know you can make the journey safely. God is with you.”