Apollyon flees, but Christian is not yet out of trouble. As he struggles out of the Valley of Humiliation, he falls into another, the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Again, Bunyan is at pains to point out that this experience is part of the Pilgrimage, ‘Christian must needs go through it, because the way to the Celestial City lay through the midst of it’. He meets others who refuse to go through this howling wilderness. The Narrow Path through the Valley is boundaried by a deep dtich on one side, and a dangerous quagmire on the other… But most troubling of all, it passes dangerously close to the ‘mouth of hell’. He is confused and uncertain, wonders about turning back. He is surrounded by the cries of the lost, and all manner of fell and demonic creatures. It is a disturbing and ambiguous set of images, and one that many feel should be left in the 1660s. Indeed, if you have a more modern (abridged) edition of Pilgrim’s Progress, this section may well be left out.
But what are we to make of it? Surely this can’t be part of a Christian’s experience? Bunyan thinks otherwise, though I have to be honest and say that there is some uncertainty about exactly what spiritual dynamic he is seeking to capture in this disturbing imagery. My own opinion is that Christian is having to confront the twin realities of Judgement, and of his own mortality. Both are disturbing, and both are necessary. A Christian who will not face these, will not make progress.
In terms of our own mortality, the Bible is replete with examples of our being called to number our days, and to come to terms with the fact that one day we will die. This is the road to wisdom (Ps.90:12). ‘Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is’ (Ps.39:4). To truly confront the inevitabilty of our own demise is a profund spiritual experience, and one that is difficult to cultivate in our cultural climate.
And with it, we must come to terms with the reality of Judgement. In the Bible this is linked closely with death. It isn’t so much the reality of our own judgement that Bunyan has in mind (though Christians will experience certain aspects of that Day, I Cor.3:11-15, I Pet.1:17 etc.). We have no fear of hell and condemnation if we are in Christ. It is more the reality of Judgement per se. Our propensity to either functionally ignore, or to openly call into question Jesus’ and the Apostles’ teaching about Judgement is both spiritually immature, and further ensnares us in spiritual immaturity. Until we have reconciled ourselves to God’s justice, goodness and wisdom in condemning the wicked, we are impoverished in our capacity for worship, and significant aspects of our own discipleship will be hopelessly hindered.
Facing these cosmic realities can be profoundly destablising, and can only be done in an atmosphere of prayer and devotion (he … betake to himself another weapon, All-Prayer'). It is worth noting in passing that Faithful passes through this Valley with much greater ease. But once he has made it through, Christian, discerns the wisdom of God in leading him through ‘this disconsolate condition some considerable time’.
He was able to recognise that others were in this Valley as well as himself, and that God was with them. Bunyan is suggesting that in our prayerfully wrestling to come to terms with these colossal truths, we are in an arena in which we can meet with the Lord in deep and compelling ways, and grow in fellowhsip with others who have confronted these same issues before us.
For part of the journey it may feel that God is absent, and that we are isolated from other Christians. And in the midst of our trials, we are tempted to think erroneously (thus being blind, we are lead by the blind into the ditch), or despairingly of God (and thus be lead into the quagmire). Indeed we are tempted to think in outright ‘blasphemous’ ways about Him. Yet our persevering brings us safely at last to ‘the light of day’.
We realise that God ‘reveals deep things in the darkness’ and indeed ‘brings light out of the shadow of death’.
Questions to ponder:
How can you come to terms with the reality of your own death? Have you done this yet? How has it shaped your pilgrimage?
Are you reconciled with the goodness and justice of God in His judging the world? Can you articulate your conerns, anxieties or disagreements?
What ‘blasphemous’ thoughts about God might we be tempted to entertain as we consider these things? How can we guard ourselves against them?
…and here’s an idea if you are struggling:
Read through Matthew’s Gospel. What does Jesus teach about these matters?
