Week 44 - The Vagabond, The Tourist And The Pilgrim
“And [they] confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrew 11:13, KJV)
We live in a very mobile world. People travel for various reasons. Most of us have a clear sense of where we would like to end when we set out on a trip. For some, the destination is secondary to the journey itself. They care not where they are going, not knowing the end point, while others are oblivious to the experiences travelling brings, remaining totally focused on reaching their destination in the shortest possible time.
The vagabond cares not where he is heading. He drifts from place to place with seeming aimlessness, with no end point or destination in mind. The tourist is one who from time to time wonders where he is heading. This usually happens when we join a tour group and are sometimes subject to the whims of the guide who shuttles us around without adhering to the tour itinerary. The pilgrim is one who really knows where he is going and why the trip was embarked upon in the first place. In fact, he is resolutely sure of where he is heading all the time. To him, every step is directed to reach the end point, every turn purposed to get there as soon as possible and every restful stop observed in order to arrive as planned.
It is important to know where we are going when we embark on a journey. Only then will our travel be meaningful and our preparation purposeful.
Pilgrim People
Section titled “Pilgrim People”Have you ever wondered why Christians are sometimes called pilgrims?
The pilgrim is one who really knows where he is going and why the trip was embarked upon in the first place.
The Book of Exodus tells of God’s people journeying to the Promised Land. They were a pilgrim people. It chronicles the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses, pressing toward the Promised Land. The sojourns of God’s people may be traced back to Abraham who was pictured as a pilgrim, leaving the security of home, setting out at times “not knowing where he was going,” moving through life, dealing with its obstacles, and relying completely on God’s promises. At every stage, and through countless sufferings and trials, the people of God pressed on toward the prize that God has promised them at the journey’s end.
In John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, the image of a lone believer journeying toward the Celestial City is vividly portrayed. Such imagery aptly describes the community of God’s people. It is likely that Bunyan drew inspiration for this allegory from the biblical reference to Christians as “strangers and exiles on the earth” who “are seeking [the] homeland” God has specially prepared for them (
As Christians, we too are heading for the Promised Land, the Celestial City, heaven. We are heaven-bound. You may have heard of the remark that some Christians are so “heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use.” But it can be argued that it is only when we are heavenly minded that we can be of earthly use.
What then are the hallmarks of a Christian pilgrim?
They purpose their journeying as learning experiences.
Someone once said that our experience on earth prepares us for heaven, and going by statistics, some of us would have up to 85 years to get ready for heaven. As Christian pilgrims, we must strive “to know Him and to make Him known.” On the one hand, we seek to know Him through studying the Scriptures and praying, and on the other, we seek to make Him known to the world through our witnessing.
They accept their lot as from the Lord.
Christian pilgrims do not deviate from the path marked out for them by the Lord. They accept their lot knowing full well it is from Him. Hence, we must be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. The Apostle Paul had this in mind when he wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (
They regard their destination as an inheritance.
The destination of Christian pilgrims is not a place they stumble upon but one they will inherit. It is a place specially prepared for them. Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (
How then should we live? Not as drifting vagabonds or curious tourists, but as a purposeful pilgrims knowing where we are going when our days on earth are done. The song “This World is Not My Home” describes beautifully the inner yearnings of a Christian pilgrim. You would probably be singing along as you read the lyrics of the well-known hymn below.
This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.