It’s an old story used by many preachers. However, it illustrates an important principle that is applicable to our churches today.Many thousands years ago, the islanders of Lepsog islands were champion squid hunters. They harpooned giant squids that roamed their oceans and brought prosperity to their islands. Every young man who reached 18 years of age was required to join the older men in the great sea hunt.There were many accounts of exceptional courageous and successful hunts recorded in the ancient book known as the ‘Chronicle of Sea Warriors’. Recorded in one of its illustrious chapters was a story of a Master Squid Hunter known as Nomis who with his long-time navigator, Nhoj hauled in giant squids that fed the islanders for years.In another account, Luap, another Master Squid Huner singlehandedly speared his game with his very own handmade harpoon. There were of course stories of cowards and quitters. There was a report about Kram, a young man, who jumped out of Luap’s boat even before the team reached deep ocean because he was really afraid of giant squids. However, the legend did record that that Kram overcame his fear and became a Master Squid Hunter himself. Another man whose name was Samed was one of the top squid hunters but left the islands forever because he wanted nothing to do with hunting giant squids any more. He was attracted by the lights of the mainland. No one knew whether he and his canoe ever reached the land of his dream.The Master Squid Hunters left behind manuscripts on how to make the right types of harpoons, appropriate baits and also techniques in catching these sea monsters. They wrote good advice on how to avoid the tentacles and if attacked, what squid hunters should do to free themselves. For thousands of years, the manuscripts were compiled and became a treasured manual. This was a book of success as far as the squid hunters were concerned. Many copies were reproduced by hands and even translated into different languages and dialects.After the first generation of Squid Hunters passed away, new hunters rose to fill their places. With the manual and the direct instructions from squid hunting veterans guiding them, they were just as effective as the old-timers. Many of these younger hunters pursued larger giant squids in far deeper oceans than their predecessors had even been. Years passed, as more and more people from other islands sailed to the Lepsog island to learn how to hunt giant squids, the people of these other islands were enjoying a very good healthy diet of giant squids.Fast forward to today. The Islands of Lepsog are filled with Giant Squid Hunting schools and colleges. The students of the original schools set up similar institutions on other islands outside of Lepsog too. Squid hunting professors are very impressive. They are fantastic lecturers. To help the students, they have beautiful PowerPoint presentations and even some black-and-white film footages on how those brave squid hunters of antiquity brought in thousands of giant squids.The libraries of these institutions are filled with countless volumes that tell and retell these old stories. Many graduates of these institutions have gone on to become the Grandmasters of the Giant Squid Hunting League. They in turn write many books about how those ancient mariners caught their amazing giants.There is just a slight hitch.  None of these grandmasters has ever caught a giant squid before. Don’t get me wrong – they are believers of the previous existence of giant squids. However, they do not believe that there are any more giant squids in the oceans. How did they know that? They had gone to the oceans to hunt for giant squids but without any results. They have the most modern boats and ships. They have the latest hunting equipments. They have lots of money to buy anything they need for deep-sea hunting. The only problem is that they have not encountered any living giant squids in the deep oceans.To pacify their disappointments and justify their lack of success, they assume that the giant squids have become extinct. Most likely, these squids existed in the past for the purpose of testing the courage of their ancestors. More books are produced year after year about the extinction of the giant squids in spite of sightings made by many outside their immediate circle.The social activities of the Giant Squids Hunting Clubs in all the Lepsog islands are alive. They organize weekly events to celebrate the past existence of the giant squids. They also celebrate the bravery of their ancestors who risked their lives to harpoon these amazing creatures. Some islanders convert their clubs into museums and draw large crowds of tourists.Then some members of the Giant Squids Hunting Club, claim that they have sighted a few giant squids during some of their fishing trips. The Grandmaster and his committee quickly dismiss these as unsubstantiated reports and thus should be considered as mere rumors. Even though, they were brought to view a decomposing carcass, they concluded that “it looks like a giant squid, smells like a giant squid and feels like a giant squid but it is not a giant squid”. Those fishermen were given warnings not to spread the rumors or face severe punishment such as being expelled from the Giant Squids Hunting Association. Without any further interruption from these ignorant fishermen, the Giant Squids Hunting Clubs continue to have exciting activities without having to actually hunt giant squids. The clubs prosper and develop franchises all over the world.(aksermonillustrations.blogspot.com)Bakudaily.az