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Lesson 23
Not long after Christian and Hopeful left the angel who had delivered them from the net of the Flatterer, they met a man going in the opposite direction whose name was Atheist. He laughed at them when they said they were going to the Celestial City. “Why,” said he, “you are more foolish than you look. There is no such place as that. And, furthermore, there is no God. He exists only in man’s imagination.” But Christian and Hopeful were not deceived by this man. Hopeful said, “From the Delectable Mountains we have had a glimpse of the city. We know that it is real. And we have had real experiences with God who has made heaven and earth, and He loves man and gave His own Son to redeem him. Let us leave the company of this man at once. He never does good for anyone.” Immediately they left Atheist to go on his way and they continued their journey. As they walked along, flowers began to appear. “What kind of flowers are those?” asked Christian. “They are poppies,” replied Christian. “They are known to induce sleep.” The poppies grew thicker as they along. The conversation between the two travelers became less and less. Finally, with a yawn, Hopeful said, “Christian, I am so sleepy that I cannot hold my eyes open. Let us lie down on this soft green grass among the poppies and rest for a while. We will be better able to continue if we are fresh and rested.” But Christian remembered the words of the shepherds and answered, “By no means. I am afraid if we slept here we should never waken.” “Why do you say that?” questioned the sleepy Hopeful. “Sleep is sweet to a laboring man.” “Do you not remember that the shepherds of the Delectable Mountains warned us about the Enchanted Ground? This is it, I am sure, and we must not go to sleep.”
“I am glad you remembered, brother,” said Hopeful. “Surely if I had been alone I would have fallen into trouble here, for I am so sleepy that I cannot think. A companion is indeed a help to a pilgrim if he is a godly companion. At the end of our journey you will surely be rewarded for all your kindness to me.” “To overcome our drowsiness let us talk of some interesting thing until we are safely over this bit of ground,” suggested Christian. “That is a good idea,” said Hopeful. “You begin.” “I will ask you a question,” said Christian. “How did you first decide to come on pilgrimage?” “Well,” said Hopeful, “I was quite satisfied to go on in my sins until you and Faithful came to Vanity Fair, but what I saw and heard of you convinced me that the wrath of God must surely fall upon sinners. I tried to put the thought from me and enjoy again the pleasures of this world but I could not. “What did you do?” asked Christian. “I decided to reform. I abandoned all my bad habits. I began to pray and read the Bible and I wept because of my sins. For a while I thought this solved my problem, but as I read I discovered such sayings as these: ‘All our righteousness’ are as filthy rags,’ and ‘By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified.’ I know that God requires settlement for past sins. I did not know what to do.” “How did you get relief?” asked Christian. “I told Faithful about my trouble. He told me of the Lord Jesus Christ who was without sin; because He had no sin of His own, He could take my sins and bear the judgment for them. He told me how He went down into death and arose triumphantly over death and ascended into heaven again.” “Did you believe on Him then?” Christian asked. “No,” replied Hopeful. “I thought of many objections, but Faithful had an answer from God’s Word for everyone of them. It was not until I put my faith in the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as my Savior that I received everlasting life and such peace and joy in my heart as I had never known.” “What effect did it have on you?” inquired Christian. “It made me love the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Hopeful answered, “and caused me to see such beauty in Him as I had never seen. It made me desire to live a life that would honor His name and that would cause others to desire to know Him. It also made me love His people and delight in their company and fellowship. Telling the story of his conversion had entirely freed Hopeful of his drowsiness and he was filled anew with love for the Lord Jesus who had suffered so much for him. He was full of zeal to go on living a life of service for His Savior. This is the reason we who are saved need to be reminded often of Calvary. When things are going along smoothly we often become drowsy and indifferent to opportunities to witness to the saving grace of our blessed Lord and we need to remember His love for us and His suffering and death to purchase our redemption.
“Hark! ‘tis the watchman’s cry,
Call
to each waking band,
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