Pilgrim’s Progress is Our Progress

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. (Psalm 84:5)

In college, I was the lead in a play called “Pilgrim,” which was created based on the classic novel Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress in 1678, at the height of the Puritan Religious Expression. It told the story of Pilgrim, who was on his pilgrimage to the Celestial City. Pilgrim carried his burden of sin on his back to the sacred city. Sinful decisions by Pilgrim made his burden heavier. Moments of caring and compassion lightened his load. Making the holy journey was long and heavy enough, but added to the struggle was evil, whose companionship was persistent and often disguised. While the journey was difficult and the temptations unfair, the pilgrim finally prevails and enters the Celestial City.

While the Old English can be its own burden, the story is worth the struggle. Three hundred forty-five years later, Pilgrim’s Progress remains spiritually relevant. Each one of us carries our burden in this sinful, unjust world. Our burden is filled with our doubts, prejudices, and selfishness. Our burden is filled with personal and societal sins. In memorizing the play and living it in front of audiences, I felt the truth that all of us carry our spiritual, moral, and ethical burdens within ourselves. Yet, God continues to call us to move forward on our pilgrimage. It will not be easy. We have temptations to overcome, burdens to share, and love to give. We are often exhausted by the trials of walking to God’s Celestial City.

If we can only take one piece of wisdom from Bunyan’s prolific description of the Pilgrim, it is that he never gave up. Some moments along the path were turbulent, while others were painful, but no matter how heavy the burden got, Pilgrim kept moving forward with hope and anticipation. With each struggling step, Pilgrim kept up his trust in God’s guidance, especially when the path was the most challenging.

When your road is heavy and unfair, remember Bunyan’s Pilgrim. Sinful mistakes did not define him. Our mistakes do not define us either. Our burden will get heavy at certain moments in our journey through life. At times, you will question whether you can keep going. Trust God to lighten your load and give you the faith to keep putting one step in front of the other until you cross the threshold in the Celestial City, God’s heavenly kingdom. Don’t give up! Keep moving! God will continue to lighten your load!