THE IMPRISONED PREACHER WITH A BIG IMAGINATION
VOLUME I • ISSUE NO. 1
Meet John Bunyan.
The Inspiration Behind The Land Of Beulah and Author Of The Pilgrim's Progress
Born in 1628, Bunyan was not a scholar. He was a poor English tinker, husband, father, preacher, and eventually a prisoner.
He spent twelve years in Bedford Gaol for preaching the Gospel without government permission. Oh, he could confess his faith. He just couldn't practice it freely.
One hundred years later, another group of pilgrims would have a similar experience...but that's a story for another day.
So he went to prison and supported his family by making shoelaces. He had intended to write about other things, but over time an unusual story began taking shape in his mind. Bunyan believed the idea was given to him by God.
It followed a pilgrim named Christian on a journey toward the Celestial City.
At the time, it was unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
When Bunyan finally shared the manuscript with several trusted friends, he hoped for encouragement. Instead, many of them urged him to burn it.
The manuscript they wanted destroyed became The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the most influential Christian books ever written and one of the most widely published books in history. Nearly 350 years later, it has never gone out of print.
Its reach has been unimaginable. Soldiers carried pocket editions into battle. Families kept it beside the King James Bible. It has been translated into hundreds of languages and continues to inspire books, films, artwork, ministries, and readers around the world.
It has even shaped our language.
Ever heard of Vanity Fair?
How about carrying a burden on your back?
Why was The Pilgrim's Progress so revolutionary?
Because in Bunyan's day, fiction was often viewed as frivolous. Yet Jesus frequently used stories to reveal truth. Bunyan dared to do the same.
Instead of lecturing readers about doubt, he gave them giants and a Doubting Castle. Instead of explaining hope, he placed a companion named Hopeful beside the pilgrim on the road.
Suddenly, people could see the truth.
That is the power of allegory.
Stories help us understand things that facts alone often cannot. Long after readers forget an argument, they remember a character. They remember a journey. They remember a place.
Readers did not simply read The Pilgrim's Progress. They saw themselves in it.
They saw their failures in Christian's wrong turns. Their longing in the Celestial City. Their hope to be refreshed and feel close to heaven in the Land of Beulah.
All of us have been entrusted with something. An idea. A gift. A dream. A calling. A story.
Sometimes the people around us do not understand it. Sometimes they tell us to play it safe. Sometimes they tell us to throw it away.
Bunyan's friends told him to burn his.
Three hundred and fifty years later, people are still talking about it.
So if God has placed something in your hands today, do not be too quick to dismiss it. The very thing that seems silly, unusual, impractical, or unlikely may be the thing He intends to use.
Happy Tuesday.
Until Next Tuesday, may your blessings be double and your burdens be light.
Michelle Driscoll
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