He Could Have Had His Freedom if He Wanted It

 Not many people today are familiar with John Bunyan, the tinker who became a preacher. He was uneducated formally but a powerful force behind the pulpit with a Bible in his hand. Too powerful and too popular. The religious leaders considered him dangerous and arrested him. 

Picture the context. His first wife died and one year later he remarried to Elizabeth. He already had four children from his previous marriage and one of those a little girl who was blind. One year later Bunyan was arrested and imprisoned. Elizabeth was pregnant at the time and had a miscarriage due to the stress of the situation. She was left to fend for herself and four step-children fighting off poverty. 

John Bunyan could have walked out a free man at any time he wanted. All he had to do was commit to never preach again. He could not compromise the conviction to preach and Elizabeth felt the same way. They both agreed he should remain in prison. Would we find that kind of faith and conviction in preachers in the United States? He remained imprisoned for 12 long years. That was not wasted time. God used those twelve years in a very productive way. 

Bunyan sat down and hand wrote the second best selling book of all time. Remember. Bunyan was uneducated. He was imprisoned. He missed his family. He still found a way to be productive for His king Jesus. He got inspired and wrote a book that has been read by brilliant theologians as well as simple minded people all over the world for well over one hundred years. The title of the book is Pilgrim's Progress. 

At one point, Bunyan recorded that watching his family suffer, especially his blind daughter, felt like his flesh being ripped from his bones. His conviction remained steadfast. He would not give up preaching. He could have had his freedom anytime he wanted. The religious leaders wanted to stop his influence. What they did not know and Bunyan could not know, is that his decision to remain incarcerated allowed him to influence more people through the ages through his book than he ever would have been able to do just preaching in person. 

God is sovereign and works in ways that are beyond our understanding. One simple conviction has had profound implications on millions of people. Maybe you are also facing a challenge to compromise your convictions. Stay steadfast. You never know what God might do through your simple act of faithfulness. He could use it in ways beyond your imagination. Stay strong.