Saturday, July 24, 2010

Pilgrim's Progress - The Plain Called Ease


The Delicate, Narrow Plain, Called Ease.

Our Heroes, Christian and Hopeful, out pacing Mr. Byends and companions experience some refreshing times, though very brief, in fact only a sentence's breadth. Yet in beautiful Bunyan fashion I think we learn from this one sentence something of the Christian Experience:

We read:

Then Christian and Hopeful outwent them again, and went till they came at a delicate plain, called Ease, where they went with much content; but that plain was but narrow, so they were quickly got over it.

I noted that here they had "much content." And yet we should remember, this was a delicate plain, a narrow plain and so we won't be here long in the delicate, narrow plain called Ease. I think Bunyan wants us to know there is such a thing as a time of Ease where trials seem to cease from view, temptations not so tempting, persecutors not so apparent. But even so this shouldn't be expected long. The place is delicate and the plain itself is narrow. So wonderful as the journey here is - since we are ever moving to the celestial city soon we quickly get over it and find ourselves facing the next trial.

Thank you God for those refreshing times may I learn to "Don't Waste your Plain called Ease."

1 comment:

WhiteStone said...

"but that plain was but narrow, so they were quickly got over it."

Wow! Isn't that the truth! And even so, I sometimes am amazed that our "American Ease" has been so long and so rich. I fear that if/when it ends, we will be a weak people and will struggle mightily in facing the difficulty beyond Ease.