The Christian Journey

 The Christian Journey

The Christian Journey is a term used to describe a pilgrimage toward perfection in the Christian faith as we follow Jesus. It is not an easy road or a straight road. Instead, it is a road marred with many pitfalls, potholes, detours and wrecks. Though we have the Bible as a roadmap along our journey, many choose to shelf their Bibles or to become distracted or led astray and, ultimately, end up in trouble on that journey. Each Christian has his/her own Christian journey, and few of those journeys are the same.

            Numerous novels and books have been written about The Christian Journey. The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Shack are a few of my favorites. Reading a novel that has The Christian Journey as a theme or a subtext requires readers to engage on a deeper level with the story because that story, necessarily, uses an allegorical framework. There is usually an interesting story on the surface, but the more significant details are written between the lines and in the reader’s head as the story unfolds. Readers are requested to engage with symbolism, metaphors, similes, and motifs, along with additional literary devices—all of which create depth in the story.

            ILLUMINATED is a novel about a woman who meets her unborn children in Heaven. It is an allegorical story about The Christian Journey. In the novel, Cotton Rivers loses her way as she becomes educated and pursues a career in broadcast journalism. Her beliefs are challenged after an accident requires her to re-examine her life and her “choices” in that life. Eternal salvation or Eternal damnation are the ultimate destinations of that journey, so it’s vitally important that she gets her “Sorting” right.

            Whether one realizes it or not, each Christian is on a journey and is charged with an examination of his/her life. The rewards are high, and the stakes are even higher. Sometimes, it is difficult to undertake such an examination, but one can always refer to books and novels on the subject, but the highest reference book on that subject is, of course, the Bible, and it is to be studied with prayer, fasting, discernment, and great care.

A great Bible verse to guide that journey is found in 1 John 2:6: "Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which Jesus walked." Jesus's life is always our template for The Christian Journey.