Bobby was busy setting the table and whistling tunelessly as he did it. “Did Uncle Jeff always like telling stories?” he asked his mother. “I remember when he was little we could never be sure whether he was telling us stories or things that had really happened”, she said, “Yes, he has always liked telling stories”.
After tea was over, Betty grabbed Uncle Jeff’s hand, and said, “Come over here Uncle Jeff, we want to hear more story”. When they were settled down (with Sarah not far away again), Uncle Jeff said, “Well, where did we get up to?” “That man called Smarty-Pants tried to put Pilgrim off”, Betty said. “That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “Well, Smarty-Pants still hadn’t finished with Pilgrim and he told him to come and live in the same village of Selfishness where he was. He would be able to just think about himself there and everything would be so easy. Pilgrim thought this was a good idea, and he turned to go there while Smarty-Pants went the other way.
But the weather started to get dull and it began to rain. Then he could hear thunder begin to rumble. ‘Whatever shall I do?’ he thought as he put his head down and struggled on. ‘Hullo my good man”, he heard someone say, and he looked up to see who it was. It was Evangelist standing there holding a raincoat for him. ‘Here, put this on. What are you doing here?’ he asked, ‘Did you forget that I told you not to leave the trail?’ Pilgrim hung his head in shame. ‘Smarty-Pants said it would be an easier road and that I would lose my back-pack sooner’, he muttered. ‘You should remember what the King says to those who turn away…He says, ‘My soul has no pleasure in them! ‘ ‘Oh, I’m so sorry’, cried Pilgrim, ‘ Is there any hope for me?’ ‘Of course there is’, said Evangelist kindly, ‘There’s the path over there, just follow it to the gate and you will find help there.’
“He was a silly man, wasn’t he?” Betty interrupted, “He should have kept on the right path!” “Shush Betty”, said Bobby, “Let Uncle Jeff get on with the story! Did Pilgrim ever get to the narrow gate?” “Yes, he surely did”, Uncle Jeff said, “And when he got there he saw some writing across the top of the gate. It said: KNOCK AND IT SHALL BE OPENED FOR YOU!
Pilgrim knocked loudly but nothing happened. He lay on the ground puffing with the effort and disappointment, and crying out loud. Suddenly he heard a noise above him and looked up. A man was standing there looking at him lying on the ground. ‘Where have you come from and where do you want to go?’ he asked kindly, ‘My name is Kindness, and I can help you’. ‘Oh Sir,’ said Pilgrim, ‘I have come from the City of Destruction and I’m heading to the Heavenly City. Am I going the right way?’ ‘Yes, you must come in right away’, and he grabbed Pilgrim by the shoulder and dragged him inside the gate.
‘What’s the hurry?’ asked Pilgrim. ‘Do you see that castle over there to the side?’ asked Kindness, ‘That is where the evil Beelzebub lives. He tries to stop people coming through this gate, and shoots small sharp darts at them with poison on their tips to drug them’. Pilgrim looked through the window and saw the castle that Kindness was talking about. ‘Oh thank-you for pulling me to safety!’ he cried. ‘ How can I get rid of my back-pack , it is getting so heavy!’ ‘I can’t do it for you’, said Kindness, ‘you have to go on a little further and you will find how you can get rid of it’ ‘Oh thank-you again’, Pilgrim said as he left and carried on his way. The road was not always easy, and it was very stony in places making him stumble and almost fall. But he kept thinking about getting rid of the back-pack, and having things easier.
He carried on a little further and around a corner, he could see a small rise with a wooden cross on the top of it. It seemed to glow with a soft light, and he stood still a while looking at it. He could hear a small voice saying in his mind, ‘come to Me and I will give you rest’. Pilgrim put his hands up and went closer to the Cross. ‘Oh please help me’, he cried, ‘This load is SO heavy, it’s more than I can bear’. Suddenly, the straps on his backpack loosened, and the heavy load went tumbling down the hill, leaving him feeling so light and happy. He felt like a new person, as all the old things he once thought were important were gone, and he had new feelings of peace and joy. He had never felt like this before…he now had a new name as well as new thoughts and feelings and knew that he was going to this new land he had been reading about; in fact, he was looking forwards to it with all his heart.”
“I know what this story is all about now”, Bobby said, “It is telling us how a person gets to be a Christian by telling Jesus we are sorry for our sins and they all roll away”. “That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “Do you think this is the end of the story and it is all going to be happy ever after?” “No”, said Sarah from where she had been listening, “Because all sorts of bad things can happen to Christians too. So what happened to Christian after he left the cross?”
“I think we’ve had enough for now”, Uncle Jeff said, ” we’ll think about what’s happened so far in our story and then we’ll have another session next time!” “Thanks Uncle Jeff”, Sarah said as she got off her chair. “Yes, thanks Uncle Jeff”, Betty chimed in as she jumped off the couch beside Uncle Jeff, “Come on Bobby, race you upstairs!”