Progress of a Pilgrim
- innerweavings
- Nov 12, 2019
- 4 min read
"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."
I Peter 1:6-9
On November 12, 1660, a minister was arrested and imprisoned for the crime of preaching without proper government authorization. If this minister had only pledged to forego this illegal activity, he could have returned home to his wife and four small children in as little as three months. But he steadfastly refused to abandon his calling and, instead, served a prison sentence of twelve long years - until the law was changed and he was finally released. We are indebted to this man for the stand he took and the gift he gave the world as a result - for the man was John Bunyan and his gift was the incomparable classic Christian allegory Pilgrim's Progress.
Published in 1678, Pilgrim's Progress has never been out of print and is the second best selling book in history (behind only the Bible). It traces the salvation journey of an everyman named Christian from his home in the City of Destruction till his arrival at his heavenly destination, the Celestial City. Along the way he encounters the common trials of life with which we are all familiar from the Slough of Despond, to Giant Despair, to Vanity Fair. We also are well acquainted with the cast of characters he meets from Evangelist, to Mr. Worldly Wiseman, to his true friend Faithful. The genius of Pilgrim's Progress is that it is simple enough for a child to understand, yet so deep in its concepts that it provides the adult an inexhaustible wealth of theological applications.
But, then, the life of John Bunyan seems divinely allegorical itself.
Bunyan had been a tinker and then a soldier who reveled in his wicked ways. He was not a Christian when he entered into marriage with a young woman whose dowry consisted of only two books. But these were not just any books. They were expositions on Christianity and Bunyan studiously read and pondered their teachings. It was during this time he chanced upon a conversation that would change his life forever. While walking down the street, he came upon three women sitting and talking on their door step. Though obviously poor. the women expressed such joy as they spoke of their relationship with Christ, that Bunyan soon joined the conversation, asked them many questions and eventually decided to surrender his own life to God.
But John Bunyan's conversion could not have come at a worse time politically.
Though Puritans such as Bunyan had enjoyed great religious tolerance in England under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, this ended with the Restoration as Charles II reestablished the British monarchy. Laws were passed which required ministers to be ordained by Anglican bishops and adhere to the Book of Common Prayer. Any other preaching was forbidden. Bunyan refused to comply - and paid the price.
One of the hardest things for Bunyan during his imprisonment was the separation from his family, especially his oldest daughter Mary who was blind. Though he was allowed visits - and sometimes an especially merciful jailer would even let Bunyan temporarily leave the prison for special occasions - knowing that all he had to do was bow to the king's demands and he could then be a free man, was absolute torture. His resolve was tested every day as Mary, who had learned the path to the prison, brought him a jug of soup each evening and innocently asked if he would come home with her. As Bunyan wrote in his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, "“The parting with my wife and poor children hath oft been to me in [prison] as the pulling the flesh from my bones . . . especially my poor blind child, who lay nearer my heart than all I had besides; O the thoughts of the hardships I thought my blind one might go under, would break my heart to pieces. Poor child, thought I, what sorrow must thou have for thy portion in this world?"
"O I saw in this condition I was a man who was pulling down
his house upon the head of his Wife and Children;
yet thought I, I must do it, I must do it."
- John Bunyan
Psalm 30:5b reminds us, "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Morning finally came, for in 1672 the king issued a decree which suspended the law. John Bunyan was at last free! Now a revered hero in the non-conformist community, Bunyan was able to spend the remainder of his life with his beloved family, ministering, preaching the Gospel and writing more than 60 volumes.
It is wonderful to consider how three unknown women "let their light shine" upon a pilgrim who happened to journey by their door more than three centuries ago. Their light ignited the spark in John Bunyan that turned into an unwavering flame that withstood twelve years of persecution. Bunyan captured that divine light in his allegorical Pilgrim's Progress and it has continued to shine on those who have read it in the years since. What a beautiful thought that as make our way toward that Celestial City that there are NO accidents or coincidences on this journey!
You can read a free online copy of PIlgrim's Progress here:
You can read a free online children's version of Pilgrim's Progress here:
You can read a free online copy of John Bunyan's biography Grace Abounding here:
Enjoy a short biography of John Bunyan:
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