Naomi, who has just finished AO yr2, absolutely loved reading The Pilgrim's Progress this year.
I confess that I was a bit apprehensive about the book; the vocabulary is very rich, and I wasn't sure that she would be able to get enough out of the readings to narrate. No worries - she did wonderfully.
I love the book, too and I could have filled my commonplace with quotes from it. But one of my favorites is on page 118, when Christian asks Hopeful to explain how believing on the Lord Jesus affected his spirit.
Hopeful answered,
"It made me love a holy life, and long to do something for the honor and glory of the Name of the Lord Jesus. Yea, I thought that had I now a thousand gallons of blood in my body, I could spill it all for the sake of the Lord Jesus." (Emphasis mine.)
Hopeful's reply makes me think of the persecuted church all over the world, and how they are willing to spill their blood for the sake of the Lord. They are shunned by their families, lose their jobs, run out of their houses, and even worse - threatened, beaten, and killed for claiming the Name of the Lord.
I wonder how Christians in the US would react to persecution. Would we be willing to do the same as these persecuted believers who, when persecuted, endure (1 Corinthians 4:12)?
Or would we cower and deny that we even know Him?
Maybe the point is to be willing to "spill it all" for Him, persecuted or not.
