The Dream

"AS I walked through the wilderness of this world, I came upon a certain place where there was a den; and I lay down in that place to sleep; and as I slept I dreamed a dream." John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress



In religion there is strong emphases placed upon literal interpretation. Rules and laws are what often come to people's minds when they think about religion. Thou shalt do this and thou shalt not do that. There are laws on what we should wear, eat, and how to wash ourselves. We know the ten commandments, but there are actually 613 commandments. Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.


Interestingly, Jesus often did not speak literally, but figuratively. He spoke in allegories, parables, and images. He painted word pictures. Instead of literally coming out and saying what he meant, he often would tell a story and let people draw their own conclusions. These were intended hidden messages. The parables frequently frustrated his disciples. They wished that he would speak literally and not be quite so subtle.


One day they asked Jesus why He spoke so often in parables. 

Matthew 13: ¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 

This is tough to swallow, but Bunyan believed that God called those that He desired. In 1684 four years before his death Bunyan wrote The Strait Gate, based on Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you , will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."

God called the prophet Jeremiah to himself before Jeremiah was a thought. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” and again in Romans 9 "“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

It was not a mistake that you became a Christian. God has a plan for your life. He has called you to Himself. He opened your eyes and ears. He called you even though you, like Saul (later named Paul) was a captive to the evil one. God is good!!!!