I’ve started reading Pilgrim’s Progress again – for only the second time. You might even say I’ve been drawn to reread it. During prayer walks with Sammy, our Golden Retriever, I’ve felt promptings to take John Bunyan’s book off the shelf and get re-acquainted with it.
The moment I finally placed Bunyan’s book on my desk, I happened to wander over to The Cripplegate. Interestingly, the latest article was about The Pilgrim’s Progress. It is called Heavenly Clarity. I guess the Holy Spirit is at work.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
One of my favorite scenes takes place when Christian and his traveling companion, Hopeful, make there way to the Delectable (Delightful) Mountains. There they meet a group of shepherds who seek to encourage them as they continue on their journey.
These shepherds take Christian and Hopeful to what Bunyan describes as, “a high hill, called Clear.”
There Christian and Hopeful are given what Bunyan describes as a “perspective glass” (what we might call a telescope), and as they look through the lens from the top of this mountain peak, they get a glimpse of the gates of the Celestial City in the distance.
As they leave that place, Christian and Hopeful sing a song, having been greatly ministered to by these shepherds and encouraged to continue strong for the remaining part of their journey.
I love that part of Bunyan’s story for several reasons. First, I appreciate that the mountain peak is called “Clear,” because nothing brings greater Clarity to our lives then to be reminded of our heavenly destination.
From what I’ve been personally experiencing, and in noting what other people are saying, being a Christian can be really tough. I’m not talking about the kind of persecution we see in other nations – just day to day living.
How so?
Day to day living is still living under conditions of spiritual warfare, regardless of geographical location. We may be citizens of earthly nations, but our true citizenship is in heaven. It is true that God is sovereign – yet, paradoxically, He has permitted Satan to be the god of this world for the time being.
We are aliens in this world. Therefore the devil is at war with us. We need heavenly clarity to keep us on the narrow, flinty path to heaven. Bunyan’s book lays out the dangers we will encounter along the way, and emphasizes the clarity Christians need.
In Cheryl V. Ford’s unabridged version of The Pilgrim’s Progress, she notes the great puritan scholar John Owen’s remark about John Bunyan: “If I could possess that tinker’s abilities for preaching, I would most gladly relinquish all my learning.”
The Pilgrim’s Progress is just as relevant today as it was in Bunyan’s, perhaps even more so. I’m going to carefully reread it. Maybe we all should.
Derek Thomas on ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’