Welcome, Fellow Pilgrim
Life is a journey, and this little corner of the Web is my commonplace for reflections on the Christian pilgrimage. My name is Jessica, and this blog is inspired by the classic Christian allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress: from this World to that Which is to Come, written by John Bunyan while imprisoned. First published in 1678, it is long regarded as the most printed and widely read Christian book after the Bible.
The Christian’s Journey
The Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the beginning, progression, and conclusion of the true Christian life. It follows Christian as he journeys from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, facing trials such as the Slough of Despond, the Hill Difficulty, the Valley of the Shadow of Death, Vanity Fair, and Doubting Castle, and receiving guidance from Evangelist and encouragement from companions like Faithful and Hopeful. This journey is also marked by mercy, grace, and peace.
Walking the Pilgrim’s Path
Like Christian, I live a pilgrim’s life—traveling toward eternity, striving to keep one eye on the Celestial City and the other on the daily activities of this world. The path is at times steep, and sin makes this world a dry and weary land. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ is present in every valley and on every mountaintop.
No matter the trials—the valley I traverse, the slough I may stumble into, the river I must ford, or the hill I climb—my Guide is ever watchful, my Deliverer unfailing. He leads His people by “the right way,” as the Psalmist says, to the “city of habitation” (Ps. 107:7)—the glorious city with foundations, “not made with hands,” and “whose Builder and Maker is God” (Heb. 11:10; 2 Cor. 5:1).
A Pilgrim’s Journal
This blog serves as my personal commonplace book—a way to remember the Lord’s faithfulness at different stations of my pilgrimage, by recording what I am learning as I walk along the path to the Celestial City. I have nothing truly original to write that hasn’t already been shared by others, especially the great “heroes of the faith” who faithfully trod this path before me.
I would be delighted to hear from you. I enjoy learning alongside like-minded Christians whose paths converge with mine, fellow pilgrims traveling “from this world to that which is to come.”
May your time here leave you with increased joy in our sovereign Lord.
With every blessing for the journey ahead,
Jessica
“Let us use worldly things as wise pilgrims do their staves and other necessaries convenient for their journey. So long as they help us forward in our way, let us make use of them, and accordingly esteem them. But if they become troublesome hindrances and cumbersome burdens, let us leave them behind us, or cast them away.”
—George Downame
Sola Gratia · Sola Fide · Solus Christus · Sola Scriptura · Soli Deo Gloria