The Pilgrim's Progress: Christiana's Journey begins

Christiana views the road ahead.

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FFor many readers, The Pilgrim's Progress ends when Christian crosses the River and enters the Celestial City. After all, his burden is gone, his battles are finished, and his long pilgrimage has reached its glorious conclusion.

But Bunyan was not finished.

Several years after publishing The Pilgrim's Progress, he wrote a second part, returning to the same road and the same heavenly destination. This time, however, the story follows those Christian left behind: his wife Christiana, their sons, and their companions.

The opening pages immediately answer a question that has lingered since the beginning of Christian's journey. What became of his family?

When Christian first fled the City of Destruction, Christiana did not go with him. She thought his fears were foolish and his warnings excessive. While he set his face toward the Wicket Gate, she remained behind.

Now everything has changed.

Bunyan does not begin Part II with a theological discussion. He begins with a troubled conscience.

After Christian's departure, Christiana finds that she cannot escape the memory of her husband or the message that transformed his life. The things he once said begin to weigh upon her heart.

One night, she experiences a disturbing dream in which she sees the coming destruction of the city and awakens filled with fear for herself and her children.

Suddenly Christian's warnings no longer seem unreasonable.

The judgment he fled appears real.

The Celestial City he sought appears desirable.

Most importantly, the mercy he found seems necessary.

As Christiana wrestles with these things, a heavenly messenger comes to her bearing a gracious invitation. The call she receives echoes the summons once given to Christian:

"Come in at the gate that standeth at the head of the way."

The words strike deeply. Could the King truly be calling her? Had she not opposed her husband's pilgrimage? Had she not rejected the very path she was now being invited to follow?

Yet Bunyan's answer is one of the great themes of Scripture itself: God's grace is greater than our past resistance.

The woman who once discouraged Christian is now being drawn by the same mercy that saved him.

One of the most touching moments comes when Christiana gathers her children and speaks openly about the things that have awakened her own soul. Bunyan writes that she "began to talk to them of the truth of the things that Christian had said unto her when he was alive."

The warnings she once dismissed now seem true, and she longs for her children to share in the mercy she has begun to seek. Her appeal is simple and heartfelt:

"Children, we are all undone by nature; but come, let us go to the Wicket Gate and see what He will do to us."

In that invitation, we hear not only the voice of a new pilgrim but the heart of a mother who does not wish to travel toward the Celestial City alone.

She has no desire to leave them behind. If she is going to seek the King, she wants them to come as well . The pilgrimage that follows will therefore be very different from the one we have just completed.

Christian traveled largely as a solitary pilgrim, joined at various times by faithful companions.

Christiana's journey begins as a family journey.

A mother gathers her children.

Friends join the company.

Pilgrims encourage one another along the road.

The dangers are real, but so is the fellowship.

For that reason, many readers have found Part II every bit as rewarding as Part I. Christian's story emphasizes conversion, conviction, and perseverance. Christiana's story highlights family, discipleship, hospitality, friendship, and the ways God often works through communities of believers.

Together, the two parts present a fuller picture of the Christian life.

As we begin this new stage of Bunyan's masterpiece, we do so alongside Christiana herself. We hear the King's invitation. We feel the stirrings of conviction. We watch a hesitant pilgrim take her first steps toward the Wicket Gate.

The road is familiar.

The destination is the same.

But a new journey is about to begin.

Looking Ahead

Next week we will accompany Christiana as she leaves the City of Destruction and begins her own pilgrimage toward the Celestial City, discovering that the King who welcomed Christian is ready to receive all who come to Him in faith.

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Lord Jesus, I thank You for part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress and the grace You freely offer to those who missed an earlier chance.. Thank You for giving me another chance to begin the journey to the Celestial City and help me, like Chistiana, to bring my children along, as I pray in Your name, trusting in Your mercy and grace. Amen

If you are willing to pray with me, please note that in the Comments section below, and we will journey together to the throne of grace. Looking forward to praying together --Ken

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Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling for you and for me;

See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,

Watching for you and for me.

Refrain

Come home, come home,

You who are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,

Pleading for you and for me?

Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,

Mercies for you and for me?

Refrain

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

Passing from you and from me;

Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,

Coming for you and for me.

Refrain

O for the wonderful love He has promised,

Promised for you and for me!

Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,

Pardon for you and for me.

Refrain

Will L. Thomp¬son, 1880

Be of good comfort,rise; He calleth thee. Mark 10:49