“Once again, a vision of the holy city rose up in my heart, so I determined to carry a little further.”

Christian from Pilgrim’s Progress

Some would say that, apart from the Bible, there is no English book that has been read more or had a greater impact on the church than John Bunyan’s masterpiece The Pilgrim’s Progress. It was written and published in the latter half of the seventeen century after the invention of the printing press and was widely read by all classes of people. It had a significant impact on both the Reformation of the church and society at large by inspiring many average people to learn to read. Some scholars say it is one of the greatest fictional works of all time and is cited for its influence on a wide range of great writers including CS Lewis, John Steinbeck and Mark Twain.

What were the reasons for its popularity and influence? Two significant areas that led to its initial popularity were Bunyan’s creative ability to develop a rich entertaining story in narrative form and his ability to introduce a diverse group allegorical characters that the reader could identify with.

English literature expert Robert McCrum, writing for The Guardian, states….

“Bunyan draws the reader into the story in a very compelling way while teaching deep Christian truths. But it wasn’t just Bunyan’s creativity that led to its popularity and impact, it is the way Bunyan’s characters are portrayed and the challenges that they faced that made it so popular. The story’s main character was Pilgrim who set out on a journey from his hometown of The City of Destruction to The Celestial City and along the way found many pitfalls and setbacks. It is a tale that represents the conversion and spiritual journey of all Christians. Moreover, the narrative tells of Pilgrim’s many personal shortcomings and the way he overcomes them. The reader relates to Pilgrim because he is not a super saint who after his conversion always does the right thing. Pilgrim is a common man that we can all identify with in both good and bad character traits.¹”

In a similar manner, the Bible also presents us with many characters that possess both good and bad character traits. They are relatable and well-rounded figures not a bunch of “super saints.” It offers an unvarnished account of their lives in their relationship with God. For example, David displays faith and courage when conquering Goliath but later is selfish and negligent when he enters into a relationship with Bathsheba. It shows Elijah’s mighty victory at Carmel but then his flight for his life when Jezebel threatens him. The apostle Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached on the day of Pentecost but earlier he denies the Lord three times after he so confidently declared that even if all of Jesus’s disciples forsook him he never would.

There is power in the biblical narratives. These stories help us learn and grow in the “truth” as we see ourselves in them. Didactic teaching is important but narrative allows us through our imaginations to identify and remember truths more effectively.  When a story grabs our attention and we see ourselves in it by identifying with the characters and situations, it becomes meaningful to us. The same can be said for our life’s experiences. If you ask yourself, when are the times you have learned the most? It is probably when you have experienced the “truth.” When a child is very young, she doesn’t understand that it is to her benefit to not touch something very hot. This lesson can only be learned after she intentionally or accidentally touches something hot and feels the pain and lingering discomfort. This is one of the core truths of “reaping what we sow” both good and bad. It serves as a living “instruction” and “testifies” to what will happen when we don’t live according to God’s eternal truth. In contrast, the narratives provide us a less painful path to growth and learning. Through narratives like Pilgrim’s Progress or biblical stories, we are able to learn life lessons as we identify with the characters and the consequences they face due to their actions. God does not want us to have to reap the consequences of our poor choices so he gives us examples in the biblical narratives to see what the results of sin and lack of faith are.

For this reason, much of what is presented in the name of ministry or testimony isn’t realistic or is effective. We hear many ministers who present themselves as “having it all figured out” and appear to have reached a level of “perfection.” This not only runs contrary to God’s very nature, but it is an experience that we cannot identify with or attain. Don’t get me wrong. We can all do anything through Christ who strengthens us, but it’s God’s enabling Spirit that accomplishes it. Our flesh continually gets in the way and hinders us. Over time, as we yield and die to ourselves, we will gradually be changed to resemble His image. But, along the way, there is a continual process of God refining us “in the fire” that inevitably brings all our imperfections to the surface. We need to be honest with ourselves and others that this is a God ordained process of sanctification. When we present ourselves as something we are not, we not only bring a halt to our spiritual growth but we also deceive others by making them feel inadequate and encouraging them to wear a mask as well.

Like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, I have come to know the Lord and am on a journey of sanctification to the Celestial City. I humbly present that the times that I have learned the deeper truth of the Lord and grown the most are after I have “experienced” the living Word in my own life. Regrettably, I haven’t always learned from the lessons in the biblical narrative. Many times, the greatest lessons that I learned were after I have fallen and the spirit brought to the surface the reasons for those failures. I have taken comfort in the narratives of the bible and Pilgrim’s Progress because I know that God uses imperfect people just like me to build and populate His Kingdom.

So, I invite you to follow this journey with me and through my recalling the significant periods and episodes of my life in the hope that you grow in the Lord with me. My personal narrative is one of extreme highs, many lows, triumphs and failures. It is a story of great exploits but also many failures. When I was young in my Christian walk, I liked to identify with all the positive aspects of the great characters in the Bible. I thought of myself as bold like David when he took down Goliath. But now I have come to “know” the Lord by living in the Wilderness. I identify more with Moses striking down the Egyptian task master in anger than the man who is described as the meekest who ever lived. Without these honest narratives, I would think of myself as not even saved at times. God foresaw this and revealed His goodness and faithfulness by using common imperfect people like you and I. His glory is displayed when He demonstrates His love and faithfulness to people who do not deserve His grace. My story, like yours, is overall about God’s faithfulness. It is about the God who said I would never leave you or forsake you. It is about coming to know Christ who would leave the 99 to seek and save the one who is lost. It is about the God who finished what He has started. Join me as I testify of God’s grace and faithfulness through my life’s story. Perhaps, you will be preserved from some future failure or pain as you learn from my tale. Better yet, you will be reassured of God’s faithfulness to an average man.

Notes:

1. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/23/100-best-novels-pilgrims-progress