No Durians.

So, let’s say you are walking through the mass transit station in Singapore and you happen upon this sign.

No Smoking, eating and drinking, no flammables, yea, I get that. But, durians? What? It looks like some kind of grenade or a bomb or something? And it is, kinda. Only, more on that in a second.

Let’s say it was your first trip to that part of the world, or if you are like me and you have have never even been to that part of the world, you might not know a durian is a fruit (Wikipedia).

It’s a dangerous fruit. It really is more like a grenade or a bomb. First, the spikes on this coconut-sized thing can kill you. Really. They put nets under the trees so falling durians can’t clunk you on the head. But more than anything, the durian is infamous for its deadly stench.

According to my hermeneutics professor, Dr. Ben Merkle, the stank is so powerful you can’t even bring these things around unopened. And that says nothing of what you get when you cut into one. Just imagine one of those clear-the-room gas clouds you might have had the unfortunate fate of walking into at a Christmas party or on an elevator or somewhere else (you know the one so bad noone will even claim it) then multiply that by two or three times. O.K. These things really, really stink.

Point is, there are 4.85 million people in Singapore, a city-state roughly the size of New York city, and chances are, every single one of them knows the dangers (and some even appreciate the fruit) of the durian. It is pervasive. It’s so outrageously noticeable they have to put signs up about it. But, according to Wikipedia, 4.1 million of these same folks (86 percent) have either not heard of Jesus Christ or have rejected the Truth of the Gospel.

It is amazing that something as foreign to me as a durian, a spikey, stinky piece of fruit that I had never even heard of, could have more significance to the people of that region than is the Truth of the Savior. So I start wondering what kind of universal “not” symbol I could put on a sign in the subway. Maybe a  “no false gospel” logo was in my future. Then I thought better, and figured a real live Christian in that subway might be a lot more effective in reaching people with the Truth of he Gospel. Please join me now in praying for missionaries in Singapore, Malaysia and Southeast Asia. In Jesus name. Amen.

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J. Boe Ellis is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Connie and father to Casey, Cara, Carter, Catie, Cameron and Carly. The Ellises are from Tampa and live currently in Wake Forest, NC where Boe is attending Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and working on his M.div. www.boeellis.com | powered by CERICDigital.

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