Pilgrim's Progress

Pilgrim’s Progress is a classic Christian allegory written by John Bunyan, who was serving time in prison for preaching without a license. He was at the time a Baptist deacon and later became pastor of the Baptist church in his town. Since it was written in the 1600s, the style and language make reading Pilgrim’s Progress a hard slog. Still, if you’ve never read it, I would recommend it because of its spiritual value.

For me, its greatest value in my life was teaching clearly that this life that we are in is a journey and is a journey of progress. Satan loves to bring guilt to our lives by accusing us with a truth: you’re not what you ought to be. It is true. I’m not what I ought to be. With the time that has gone by since I met Christ, with the tools that I possess to access God’s Word, with the incredible manifestations of God’s power and presence that I’ve been able to observe, I should be much further in my walk with the Lord. Bunyan helps to remind me that this journey is filled with distractions, diversions and detours that slow my progress. But, there is progress!

I’ve seen this quote in various expressions over the years, but the first time stands out for me. Billy Graham had come to Memphis for a crusade. Among those who spoke as part of the crusade was one of the local news people, a black lady named Francis Kelley. She recounted her testimony – a life that had many ups and downs – but a life firmly committed to Jesus Christ. She wound it up by saying, “I’m not what I ought to be and I’m not what I’m going to be, but thank God, I’m better than I was.” Are you making progress?