TO BE A PILGRIM

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

TO BE A PILGRIM

[Harry Foster]

THE Pilgrims were tired. They were walking against time. And now they had lost their way. There were five of them and they were not really pilgrims but campers. There were five tents in the Boys' Holiday Camp which their Bible Class had organized for them. Each tent held five boys and each tent had a name. So there were Sowers, Heralds, Warriors, and Ambassadors as well as Pilgrims, and, of course, there was much rivalry between them.

In addition to the ordinary games and fun which made their camp such a happy place there were occasional special competitions between the different tents. At the moment the Heralds seemed to have the edge on the other four, but the Pilgrims were coming up from behind and making a tremendous effort to become the champions.

Today had been the day of the final Pathfinder contest. If the Pilgrims could win this they would finish as the champion tent. For the contest each leader had been handed a map and a route, with various landmarks and points of call. The five routes were all different, but the distances were equal and the first party home would be adjudged winners. They had been given packed lunches and set off after breakfast. Now it was late afternoon and the Pilgrims were on almost the last lap of their journey. They had left Westlake some way behind, and were pressing on towards Northfield, their last place of call before the final rush home to camp. Time was all important and they were tired.

They had reached a place where five paths intersected, and had expected to find there a signpost which would show which of these paths led to Northfield. But they had been disappointed. At first it seemed from a distance as if there were no signpost at all, but as they drew nearer they saw that it was there, but it lay flat on the ground. The post had rotted and either the wind had blown it down, or some mischievous person had given it a last push and made it useless. Whatever the cause, there it lay, and no one could tell which of the paths was the right one.

John, who was in charge of the party , asked for the opinions of the other four. First to speak -- as usual -- was Peter. "I feel sure that it is straight on," he said. "Hurry up! Let's get moving at once or the Heralds will beat us." "You may be wrong, Peter," said John, "you often are. We mustn't rush the matter." "Come on," urged Peter, "let's get moving. If we find that it is wrong we may find another sign, or we can come back and start again." John turned to Stephen who gave his opinion that the correct path was the first on the left, which was enough to ensure that James would declare his view that it was the one on the right. Just like James, John thought, he always has to be contrary. Of course, he may be right. In any case this left only Andrew and himself, so he turned to him and asked, "What about it? Is it first left, right or straight on?" Whether John would have accepted a two to one majority or not, we do not know, for Andrew also had his own ideas and thought that it was the second on the left. "Oh dear!" exclaimed John, "what shall we do? Every one of you wants to go a different way. There are four chaps and four paths. Which is the right one?" "No" interjected Peter, who liked his little joke, "there are five chaps and five ways! Which one will you choose, John, the one we have just come along?"

At first John was a bit nettled by this and told Peter not to be an ass, but then an idea struck him. "Right," he shouted, "that is one thing we do know. We know the path which comes from Westlake. Come on boys, lift up the signpost and swivel it round until the arm marked WESTLAKE points back along the path we have come by. No, move it round a bit more! Hold it!" They held it, and all looked up at the five arms of the post. There was NORTHFIELD on the arm pointing second to the left. "Come on," cried Andrew, letting go of the post again, "I win!" "This is the way," said John, "but we must hurry if any of us are going to win. No more talking, you chaps. Walk! And keep on walking!"

Great was the rejoicing that evening in the Pilgrims' tent. They had just made it. And of course the whole camp had to hear of John's detective act with the signpost. It had been done in the nick of time. If they had waited to argue or to investigate further they would have been too late. But the Pilgrims were champions. And they were very proud of it.

At least they were until the Camp-fire Service after supper. For in his message the Leader spoke on looking back and read the verse about the men who were "strangers and pilgrims" which said "And if indeed they had been mindful of that [53/54] country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better country ..." (Hebrews 11:15). The Leader said that on the whole looking back was a bad thing, at least if it included a desire to go back. "But there are times," he said, "when a remembrance of where we have come from may help to keep us on the right road. Abraham may have seen a signpost sometimes which pointed to UR. It was the way back. That was the place of the old life, the place of idols and an empty heart. He had left that behind. And then if he turned his back to Ur he would be facing the right direction to walk with God. Israel often saw signposts pointing to EGYPT where they had come from. It was the land of their slavery and their shame. When they turned their backs on Egypt, Isaiah and other prophets told them, then they would be able to walk in the ways of God."

"And how about the Pilgrims?" asked the Leader -- John and Peter and the other three. Had they learned their lesson? All true Christians have turned towards Christ, and that means turning their back on the world. He asked the boys what they would do after the camp when they got back to their ordinary life and saw the many signposts which pointed back to sin and self. Would they remember that this was the way of living which they had left behind? If they did, it would help them to keep moving in the right direction. Pilgrims, yes and Sowers and Heralds and Warriors and Ambassadors too, all of them should keep their old life at their backs and look straight forward to the way of life and blessing in Christ!

Did we say that the Pilgrims were no longer proud of their exploit with the signpost? Perhaps that would not be quite true. But more than proud, they were grateful. Grateful to be reminded never to look back, except to gain fresh help for moving forward. That is the way for pilgrims. And that is the way in which pilgrims become champions. H. F.

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