ARE WE LOOKING FOR JESUS IN THE WRONG PLACES?

 

Part 16: Diligence on the Journey

"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Jesus could hardly have made it clearer. He did not promise His followers a life without hardship. He told them that in this world they would face tribulation. Yet He did not leave them with that warning alone. He also told them to be of good cheer, for He had overcome the world.

I think this is important as we continue Christian's journey in “Pilgrim's Progress.” He has reached the Cross, and his burden has been lifted, but Bunyan does not now place him on a road where everything becomes easy. The journey continues, and Christian must keep walking.

This is something we need to be careful about because there are promises made in the name of Christianity that Jesus never made. We can be told that following Christ will bring prosperity, comfort, success and an easier life. Yet Jesus told His disciples to expect tribulation. The promise is not that hardship will disappear. The promise is that Christ has overcome the world.

Bunyan seems to understand this as Christian continues along the road. He soon comes across three men asleep by the roadside. Their names are Simple, Sloth and Presumption.

Something is striking about this scene. Christian is moving forward while these three men have stopped. They are not far from the road. They lie beside it, close enough for Christian to see and speak to them, yet they are asleep.

Christian tries to wake them and warns them of the danger they are in. Their responses are revealing. Simple does not understand the danger. Sloth does not want to be disturbed. Presumption appears confident that everything will be alright.

Perhaps this is one reason I write. I have a heart for the lost sheep and the wayward pilgrim because I know something of what it means to be in that condition myself. I have needed someone to point me back to the Word of God, and I have come to understand that the Word must remain our ultimate authority. So, when I write, my desire is not simply to share my thoughts. It is to point to what God has said, because His Word is the authority by which we must examine ourselves.

Christian did not see these men and simply walk past them. He tried to wake them. Perhaps there is something for us in that. If we have been brought out of darkness, should we not have a concern for those who are still asleep?

Bunyan gives each of them a name, and I think there is something for us to consider in all three. We can become careless because we do not understand the danger around us. We can also become careless because we simply do not want to be bothered. We can become careless because we presume that everything will be alright regardless of how we live.

None of these attitudes will help us continue on the journey.

This is where diligence becomes important. Christian is not walking to earn the forgiveness he received at the Cross. His burden has already been lifted. He is walking because he has been called to continue on the way. Yet I know how easily I can slip back into the habit of trying to earn what has already been given to me. Even if it happens subconsciously, I tend to think that if I do enough, pray enough, read enough Scripture, or live well enough, I can somehow make myself more acceptable to God. But salvation is not something I can earn, and neither can I make the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ any more sufficient by my own efforts. Diligence is not about earning salvation. It is about faithfully continuing the journey because I have already been saved by grace.

And the road is not always easy; in fact, quite the opposite.

The Parable of the Sower comes to mind here. Jesus tells us about those who receive the Word with joy, but when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, they stumble. The problem becomes evident when hardship comes.

That should prompt us to reflect on how we respond when following Christ costs us something. What happens when obedience brings difficulty rather than blessing? What happens when prayers seem unanswered, when people oppose us, or when doing what is right proves harder than we expected? At times like these, everyone seems to have an answer. Someone will tell us what we should do, what we should believe, or why things are happening. Sometimes the answer can even seem so obvious that we are tempted to accept it without returning to the Word of God. Yet this is precisely where diligence matters. When the road becomes difficult, we need to know where our authority rests. We must return to the Word and allow God to instruct us rather than letting the voices around us determine our direction.

Do we continue walking?

Peter tells us to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Scripture does not tell us to sleep by the roadside and assume everything will take care of itself. We are repeatedly called to watchfulness, yet I think we can easily underplay it, since much of the Christian battle takes place in the unseen. We can see the difficulties of everyday life, but we cannot see the spiritual forces at work behind them. That can make the warning seem less immediate than a danger we can see.

Yet Scripture does not treat the unseen as unreal. Paul tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

This is why we must anchor ourselves in the Word of God. We may not be able to see the spiritual battle around us, but God has not left us without instruction. His Word is our teacher, showing us what is true, warning us of danger, and teaching us how to walk. We do not need to speculate about the unseen or create our own understanding of it. We have the Word of God, and we must take what it tells us seriously.

Christian has come through the Cross. His burden has been removed, and he keeps moving. The Cross is not the end of his journey. It is where his burden is dealt with, but there is still a road ahead of him.

Perhaps this is what makes those three men lying beside the road so uncomfortable. They are close to the path, but they are not moving along it. Christian is.

It makes me wonder whether there are times when we can become comfortable with being near the things of God without actually continuing to follow Him. We can hear the Word, know the language, attend the meetings and be familiar with Christian things, yet still become spiritually asleep.

Bunyan puts Simple, Sloth and Presumption beside the road immediately after Christian has come to the Cross. I don't think that is accidental. Coming to Christ does not mean that we can stop being watchful. If anything, the journey ahead gives us even more reason to remain diligent.

Jesus has already told us what to expect. There will be tribulation, but He also tells us to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Our confidence, therefore, is not in the promise of an easy journey, but in the One who has already overcome everything that stands against us.

Signing off

Tyrone

Scripture References: John 16:33; Matthew 13:20-21; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 6:11-12; Proverbs 4:23.