TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME
WEEK 5 - FRIDAY
Read and pray: "Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." (Prov. 26:12)
The conversation with Ignorance
and the dreadful situation of Turn-Back
And again I fell asleep and began to dream. I saw the two pilgrims coming down from the mountains along the road to the city.
Lower down the mountains there is a country called Fantastic-Ideas, from which a crooked path leads to the road where the pilgrims were walking. There they met a young man, half-witted, who came from that country. His name was Ignorance. Christian asked him where he came from and where he was going, and he replied:
Ignorance – I am a native of that country which lies to the left hand, and I am going to the Celestial City.
Christian – And how do you think you will get in there? You may find some difficulty at the gate.
Ignorance – I shall enter just as other good people do.
Christian – What do you have to show so they will allow you to enter?
Ignorance – I know my Lord’s will, and I have lived a good life; I give every man his due, I pray, I fast, I pay tithes, I give alms, and I have left my country to travel to the Celestial City.
Christian – But you did not enter through the gate at the beginning of this road. You took the crooked path, and therefore, no matter how good you think you are, on the day of reckoning, when you try to enter the city, you may be accused of being a thief and a robber.
Ignorance – Sirs, you are complete strangers to me, and I do not know you. You follow the religion of your country, and I will follow the religion of mine, and I hope all will be well in the end.
As for the gate you speak of, everyone knows it is far from our country, and I don’t believe there is anyone who knows the way to it. Nor should we worry about that, for as you see, we have a pleasant and convenient shortcut that leads to this road.
Christian, seeing that this man thought himself wise, said in a low voice to Hopeful, "There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Prov. 26:12); and added, "He lacks sense, and shows everyone that he is a fool" (Eccl. 10:3). What do you think? Shall we continue talking to him, or should we press on and leave him to think over what we said, waiting for him later to see if we can help him in some way?
Hopeful – I agree; I don’t think it wise to tell him everything at once; let’s leave him for now, and we will speak with him again when the opportunity arises. So they walked ahead, and Ignorance followed a little behind. They had not gone far when they came to a narrow and dark place, where they saw a man tied with thick ropes by seven demons who were taking him back to the little door they had seen at the foot of the mountain.
A great fear came upon the pilgrims as they witnessed this scene. Nevertheless, when the demons passed by with the man, Christian looked closely to see if he recognized him, for he thought it might be one Back-Again who lived in the town of Apostasy; but he could not see his face because he held his head down, like a thief caught in the act. After he had passed, Hopeful saw that he had a sign on his back that read: Licensed Christian, and cursed apostate. Then Christian said to his companion:
I will now tell you a story that I heard about a man from this area. His name was Little-Faith, and though he was very respectable, he lived in the town of Sincerity.
Near the entrance to the narrow passage we are now walking through, there is a path coming from the gate of the broad way, which is called Dead-Men’s-Lane because of the many murders committed there. Now, this Little-Faith, traveling as we are, happened to sit down in that place and fell asleep. Just then, three well-known villains—Cowardice, Distrust, and Guilt—who were brothers, came down Dead-Men’s-Lane, and seeing Little-Faith asleep, ran toward him. At that very moment the poor pilgrim woke up and was preparing to continue his journey.
As soon as the three came near him, they ordered him to stop in a threatening tone. Little-Faith turned pale and had no strength to fight or flee. Then Cowardice shouted: Hand over your purse. And as the pilgrim hesitated to obey (for he hated to lose his money), Distrust ran to him, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small bag full of silver. Little-Faith cried out that he was being robbed, but Guilt, who had a huge club in his hand, struck him a terrible blow on the head that knocked him to the ground, where he lay bleeding profusely.
The thieves stood over their victim, but suddenly, hearing someone approaching and fearing it might be one Great-Grace from the town of Good-Hope, they fled at once, leaving the poor man behind.
Hopeful – And did they take everything he had of value?
Christian – No. They failed to search the place where he kept his jewels hidden, but from what I’ve been told, the poor man was deeply grieved by the robbery, for they had taken almost all the money he had for daily expenses. True, he still had a few small coins left, but not enough for the needs of the journey.
Moreover, I heard he was forced to beg in order to survive, since he was not allowed to sell his jewels. But even while begging, he continued to travel, almost always with an empty stomach (1 Pet. 1:18).
Hopeful – I find it very strange that they didn’t take the scroll that would allow him to enter the Celestial City.
Christian – It is indeed strange, but if they didn’t take it, it wasn’t because of his cleverness, for he was so terrified by the attack of the three scoundrels that he had no strength or skill to hide anything. He owed it more to Providence than to his own efforts that he managed to keep such a valuable document.
Enjoy more:
Hymn – Gospel Preaching – “Rescue the Perishing”
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