The Christian's Hope

Many of you are likely to be familiar with the famous story “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan. As I read through it once again, a particular scene stood out to me. When Pilgrim is visiting a house along his journey, he comes across a strange situation. On a table is an oil lamp which is barely still aflame. Beside the table there is a man, and this man  continuously poured water over the flame. However, this light did not go out; the flame stayed alive. But how? The man could not figure it out, nor could Pilgrim until he looked around the wall. Behind the wall was another man who was constantly feeding the flame with more oil. No matter what the man with the water did, he could not put out the flame. Though the flame was barely flickering, it was still alive because the man with oil was taking care of it. This flame represents the Christian. The man with the water represents Satan, and the man with the oil represents God. This scene is very meaningful to the life and walk of the Christian. When we are struggling and when life seems most difficult, the Lord will not leave us or forsake us. As it says in Isaiah 25:3, “A bruised heel he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out."  When you feel like you’ve got nothing left, let this be your one source of hope – God will not let you out of His hands.     By: Anne Lehan