Part 3.
We left our little friend Agape just entering on the path which led to the beautiful home he had been told about. He had crossed the stile, which bore the name Faith, while his companion, Astathes, afraid of the dangers by the way, had turned back once more to indulge in ease and pleasure. Agape felt lonely enough as he began his journey, and as he climbed the first hill he felt its steep steps heavy traveling; he felt, too, that he was all alone, and that he was weak and helpless, so finding his heart beginning to faint, he pulled out his sweet-voiced flute to help his flagging footsteps and played some sweet music upon it, and, as he played, it seemed as if heavenly words went along with the music, and they said, “In the waste howling wilderness He compassed him about” (Deut. 32:1010He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. (Deuteronomy 32:10)), and again, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)). Then he thought of his King, and his heart was lifted up, and soon he was at the top of the hill. Now his path lay for a while downhill, and he stepped on cheerfully and easily, until he came into a low, green valley, and here a stream ran across his path: He could see that sometimes after rain it was swelled very high, and there were marks just to show the traveler who should come by at such seasons how to get safely over. But it was low now, and there was no danger, so Agape stepped easily over the stones that were laid in it and gained the other side. But as he pushed on the sun grew higher and higher in the heavens, and the little lad began to feel faint and weary; then he saw a soft green bank and two or three bushes threw a pleasant shade upon it and he was tempted to lie down and sleep a while; but as he drew near it, looking carefully, he saw a snake lying in the grass, which startled him; so then he remembered himself, and he saw that the deep footsteps of his Guide had passed that bank by, and he thought: “Perhaps if I had fallen asleep there, I had never wakened again. No, I will push on to my journey’s end, and then there will be rest for me.” And still feeling hot and tired, he thought of his bottle of water, and drawing it out, he drank freely from it, and, as he drank, his ears seemed filled with these kind words: “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night” (Ps. 121:6). So he looked up and saw just before him a grove of tall trees, and his road lay under them. Right glad was he of their shelter, and of the breeze which blew gently through them. Now he made his way easily and swiftly; and as he walked along he could look around him into the wood, and as he looked, he saw that on all sides of his path there were snares and traps and pitfalls, and sometimes the ground was all tumbled and torn by the mouth of the pitfalls, as if someone had fallen in, and it had been a terrible struggle to get out again. Then he was more thankful than ever that he had passed through this wood in the day time.
“How,” he said to himself, “if it were dark, should I possibly escape these dangers?” But his need for watchfulness was not over yet; when he was nearly out of the wood, he saw something creeping on towards him. He kept his eyes fixed upon it and soon saw it was a great lion. The eyes of the beast were upon him, and his long white teeth were gnashing as he prepared to spring upon him; then for a moment the boy’s heart sank low and he was giving himself, up for lost when the thought of the flute came into his mind, and, taking it quickly out of his bosom, he played a few earnest notes upon it. As soon as the notes of the flute were heard, the lion turned round and dashed away into the thicket, and instead of his angry growl, it seemed as if a voice from the tree tops repeated, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:88Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8)), and again, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:77Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)).
Then Agape passed out of the wood, and as he came out of it, he fancied he could see, far away in the distance, something bright and shining, and he thought it must be the gate of the beautiful city he was hastening to, and the joy of that “hope set before him” made the rocky path seem smooth and caused him to forget the heat of the blazing sun, and, taking out his flute, he played cheerfully upon it and ever and anon refreshed himself from the precious bottle of living water.
By and by a terrible storm came up and the child would, indeed, have been in sore distress, but he was not forgotten by his King. Through the dark clouds he saw a shelter by the roadside, and here, he rested until the tempest was over, realizing the truth that “A Man shall be as an hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest” (Isa. 32:22And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2)).
The storm, though wild, had cooled the air, and now Agape moved quickly on towards his goal. We cannot tell of all that befell him, but must hasten on to the moment when, with a heart full of joy and thoughtfulness, he stood before that golden gate. Now all his troubles were over, and as he looked back, it seemed but a little moment since he had left the beautiful but deceiving garden. The scorching of the sun he remembered no more, the weary hillside, the pitfalls of the forest, and the lion’s paws—all was over, and he only thought of the wondrous grace and kindness of the One who had brought him safely through. What awaited him as he entered into that wondrous city I cannot tell you, but I have heard it said of the King that “in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
ML 03/18/1917