THE DURIAN RESPONSE
The durian is a fruit native to Malaysia and Indonesia that likely classifies as the most stinky fruit in the world. The smell of durian has been compared to rotten flesh and sewage among others. And while that may be enough for some to ban the fruit forever, there are others who dare to bite into it. And for those who do, many of them come away relishing the fruit so much, that they describe it as one having the greatest taste among all fruits. The complex taste is sweet, savory and creamy all at once to the extremes and leaves behind a lingering after-taste for the ages. Fair to say, you either love or hate the durian. You will always have an extreme response to the durian fruit.
The durian response is what greets the gospel when it is presented. You either love it or hate it. We see this playing out in the history of the early church. Those inclined to the gospel were those who were God fearing to begin with and many of them were Jews, who were prepared to receive the gospel. Others who were non-Jews were already primed to receive the gospel with their search for God. A good example is Cornelius to whom Peter first took the gospel outside of the Jewish community. He was devout, God-fearing, a person who prayed and generously donated to those in need. In many ways, he was already inclined to God and for such people, the truth hits home. They receive the gospel with joy and embark on a journey of faith.
We also see in the Book of Acts how the gospel was received with the opposite response of hatred and violence. Many of these were Jews who were Pharisaic in their attitude while others were worldly and did not tolerate their assets being threatened by the light that shone into the darkness of a worldly life. At Ephesus, Demetrius the silversmith initiated a riot when he saw that his business of building idols for those who worshipped Artemis would be destroyed. The power of the gospel in this instance evoked the opposite response. If the gospel were weak, there likely would be no opposition. But in the gospel is the fullness of light and truth. If you don’t receive it with joy, hatred becomes the only other response.
The durian response is still true today when the gospel is proclaimed. While there are people in all corners of the world that receive the truth with joy and gladness, there are nations and peoples that reject and hate the gospel. Such is the nature of truth.
