The Pilgrim’s Progress Part II XIII: Christiana Comes to the River

The river was before them.

There comes a time in every pilgrimage when the road that has stretched before us for so long begins to disappear.

Christiana had come a great distance.

She had left her home in the City of Destruction, crossed the river, passed through dangers, met faithful friends, endured difficulties, and watched her children grow into pilgrims of their own. Along the way there had been fear and laughter, sorrow and fellowship, danger and deliverance.

Now the journey was nearly finished.

The Celestial City could be seen ahead.

But between the pilgrims and the City there remained one last obstacle.

The River.

The King's Highway Comes to the River

Bunyan's River is one of the most memorable images in The Pilgrim's Progress. It is not merely a geographical feature on the road. It is the boundary between the pilgrim's journey and the country beyond.

The pilgrims have spent their lives traveling toward the Celestial City.

Now they must leave the road behind.

Some have been eager for the moment. Others have trembled at its approach.

When Christian came to the river in Part I, he discovered that it was not the same depth for everyone. His experience was filled with fear, and he cried out that he was sinking.

Yet Christian was not abandoned.

Hopeful stood beside him.

"Be of good cheer, my brother," he said.

And together they passed through the waters.

Christiana's company has watched others make the same journey.

They know what lies ahead.

They also know that the King has brought every pilgrim safely to this place.

The Pilgrims Do Not All Leave the Same Way

One of Bunyan's great gifts is that he never makes the pilgrims identical.

Faithful, Christian, Hopeful, Christiana, Great-heart, Mr. Valiant-for-Truth, Old Honest and the others each have their own character.

So it is at the end.

• Some approach death with confidence.

• Some approach it with fear.

• Some are surrounded by companions.

• Some must make the final crossing with only the King's promise before them.

• Bunyan does not tell us that the river is easy.

• He tells us that the King is faithful.

That distinction matters.

The Christian pilgrimage does not end because the pilgrim has become strong enough to cross the river.

It ends because the pilgrim has been brought to the King's country.

Great-heart's Work Is Almost Done

For much of Part II, Great-heart has been the great protector of Christiana and her companions.

• He has fought the enemies along the road.

• He has answered questions.

• He has encouraged the weak.

• He has guided the pilgrims through difficult places.

• He has been a faithful servant of the King.

But Great-heart cannot cross the river in another person's place.

That is one of the quiet truths of Bunyan's ending.

A guide can lead us.

A friend can encourage us.

A pastor can comfort us.

A family can surround us with love.

But there is a final step each pilgrim must take.

The King's servants can accompany us to the river.

They cannot carry us across.

Christiana's Long Journey

This makes Christiana's story particularly moving.

When we first meet her, she is not the confident pilgrim we now know.

She is Christian's wife.

She has refused to go with him.

She has remained behind with her children.

When Christian departed, Christiana could not yet see what he had seen.

But eventually the truth of the King's invitation reached her.

She gathered her children and began the journey.

That decision changed everything.

She found herself walking the same road her husband had walked, but her journey was not simply a repetition of his.

She had her children with her.

She met other pilgrims.

She became a source of encouragement to others.

And in the company of Great-heart, she learned that the road to the Celestial City could be traveled in fellowship.

The woman who once remained behind became a pilgrim who had traveled far.

Now she stood near the end.

The Children Had Become Pilgrims

Perhaps one of the most beautiful things about Christiana's story is what happened to her children.

She began the journey as their mother.

Along the road they became pilgrims themselves.

Matthew, Samuel, James and Joseph did not remain merely passengers in their mother's pilgrimage.

They grew.

They married.

They established households.

They became part of the continuing company of those who followed the King.

The pilgrimage had become a family story.

And this is one reason Part II has such a different character from Part I.

Christian traveled alone for much of his journey.

Christiana traveled with a household.

Bunyan therefore gives us not merely the story of an individual soul seeking the Celestial City, but a picture of faith carried from one generation to another.

The Road Does Not Belong to One Generation

There is something deeply human about that.

Every generation receives a road already traveled by others.

Christiana had known Christian's story.

Her children had known hers.

Others would come after them.

The King's Highway did not begin with Christian, and it would not end with Christiana.

The pilgrims come and go.

The King remains.

That may be one of the deepest reasons Bunyan's story has survived for so long.

The circumstances change.

The people change.

The dangers change.

But the fundamental journey remains.

A person hears the call.

A person leaves the City of Destruction.

A person discovers that the road is harder than expected.

A person finds companions.

A person learns courage.

A person stumbles.

A person is helped.

And eventually the road reaches the river.

The Last Enemy

There is no pretending about what the river represents.

Death is still death.

Bunyan does not make it sentimental.

The pilgrim must leave behind the world he or she has known.

Family must say goodbye.

Friends must let go.

The journey that seemed to continue indefinitely suddenly comes to an end.

Yet the River does not have the final word.

The Celestial City lies beyond it.

The King's country is on the other side.

And therefore the final crossing is not simply an ending.

It is a passage.

The pilgrims have been traveling toward the City all their lives.

At the river, they finally arrive at its threshold.

"The King of the Place"

Throughout The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan has taught us to look beyond the road to the One who rules the country toward which the road leads.

The City is beautiful.

Its gates are glorious.

Its streets are filled with light.

But the greatest treasure is the King.

That is why Bunyan's pilgrims are not merely trying to escape the dangers of the road.

They are going home.

The river separates them from the place where they will see the King.

And so the final question is not whether the pilgrim is strong.

It is whether the pilgrim belongs to the King.

Christiana's Journey Is Almost Finished

We should pause here before rushing to the gates.

Christiana's story deserves that pause.

She began in sorrow.

She traveled through difficulty.

She learned courage.

She received companions.

She became a blessing to others.

She watched her children mature.

And now she has reached the place from which there is no returning.

The road behind her has become her testimony.

Every hill.

Every battle.

Every friendship.

Every danger.

Every deliverance.

All of it has brought her here.

The journey that once seemed so long is suddenly almost over.

The River is before her.

The Celestial City is beyond it.

And the King is waiting.

What Bunyan Leaves Us With

There is a temptation, when a long story approaches its final page, to hurry.

Bunyan does not need to hurry.

He has spent two books teaching us what pilgrimage means.

The final crossing gathers those lessons together.

The pilgrim cannot stay forever on the road.

The pilgrim must eventually leave behind the familiar country.

The pilgrim must trust the King beyond the river.

And the pilgrim discovers that the destination toward which every faithful step has been directed is not merely a beautiful place.

It is home.

Christiana has traveled a long way from the woman who once stood outside Christian's door and refused to follow him.

Now she stands at the end of the King's Highway.

The river is before her.

The City is beyond.

And the story is moving toward its final farewell.

For the pilgrimage is nearly complete.

But the King's country is just beginning.

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Deep river, my home is over Jordan,

Deep river, Lord,

I want to cross over into campground.

Oh, don't you want to go to that gospel feast,

That promised land where all is peace?

Oh, deep river, Lord,

I want to cross over into campground.

Source: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: an African American ecumenical hymnal