A Rich Entrance

One of the most famous scenes in John Bunyan’s allegory of the Christian life, The Pilgrim’s Progress, comes on the final page. The two pilgrims, Christian and Hopeful, have finally completed their treacherous journey. They had faced so many snares, spills, and setbacks. They had not always trusted the King as they should have. But they had loved him sincerely, they had longed to be with him, and now at last by his grace they arrived at his Celestial City. On the other side of death’s river, the city’s gates swing open to them. Trumpets blare, announcing their arrival. The citizens of the city pour out into the streets to cheer them. Best of all, the King himself welcomes them home to himself: “Enter into the joy of your Master!” It is a rich entry in every way.

This strikes me as the kind of scene playing in Peter’s own imagination in today’s text. He is trying to get his readers to think abut the end of our lives. This is a challenge for spiritually near-sighted folks like us, who can barely think past the pressures of the moment (1:9). So Peter presses us: when you finally reach the end of your earthly pilgrimage, what kind of reception do you want to receive?

If we’re thinking clearly, of course we all want that “rich entrance” upon our arrival! We want to be known, and welcomed, and enfolded into a euphoric homecoming that will stretch out into eternity. We want to be able to compare scars and stories, now from the perspective of glory, with the other perfected saints we knew before—and with those we are just now meeting. Most of all, we want King Jesus himself to greet us warmly, and pronounce the “Well done, good and faithful servant” over our lives. That’s really what every human heart is aching to hear—even if we don’t know it and spend most of our lives trying to manufacture it from other sources.

Peter wants you to get a good, clear picture of how you want all of this to end. When all the working and loving and choosing and living is over. You need a bright vision of what you want when you reach the finish. And then let that shape how you live today.

Do you want a rich entrance when you reach Jesus’ eternal kingdom? The way to ensure it is to get about the work of growing. Return again to Peter’s list of “qualities” in 1:5–7: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Are these yours and increasing? Are you practicing these things? Notice that none of us ever masters any of them; the most mature of us is always “practicing!”

But if you do practice these things, you will never “fall.” You will never be perfect, but growth in Christ will stabilize you as you walk through life toward the eternal Kingdom of Jesus. The humbly growing Christian is preserved from many tumbles, spills, and back-slidings. I, for one, would prefer to minimize these in the time I have left on earth. You will be spared so much unnecessary pain, embarrassment, and regret (as Peter knows from experience), if you simply set your heart on growing in the Lord today.

We have now reached the end of Peter’s vigorous “opening sermon” (1:3–11). If it has done its work, then you are now persuaded that actively pursuing spiritual growth is not just an option for especially enthusiastic Christians. It is an urgent (and exciting) call to every believer, the only way to a life of stability, fruitfulness, assurance, and joy.

The only question is, what will you do with Peter’s message in your own life?

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church