I feel like writing a short story, so that is what I will do. Since I am not the best at writing stories, I will borrow the character from John Bunyan’s classic “The Pilgrim’s Progress”, though I am sure I will not do him justice. And just to clarify beforehand, I am not saying antinomianism and legalism are like this, I just could not think of better names, so I took the most exaggerated forms of both for this story. No one I know is like either, so I apologize if you are offended. I hope you enjoy the story!
Christian is walking his way to the Celestial city, still carrying his burden on his back, when he is met by Antinomian and Legalist. Antinomian is young man, he is handsome, cheerful and kindhearted, but immature. His voice is comfortable and interesting, while Legalist is old, drab and inconsiderate, yet his knowledge of the Scriptures is impressive. Legalist only seems to bark orders. “Stand up straight!” “Keep walking!” “Don’t talk to him!” “Don’t listen to him!” Antinomian walked up to Christian, not even seeming to notice that Legalist was even there.
“Wow, that is quite a burden you have there.” he said.
“Yes, I am heading to the Celestial City!” Christian responded.
“Fancy that, I am heading there myself!”
“Wonderful! Would you like to accompany me?” Christian asked.
“I would love to! Mind if my friend Legalist comes with us? You can just ignore him, he doesn’t know what he is talking about.”
Christian agreed and they began walking. It was not long before they came across the Labyrinth of Addiction. The Labyrinth was hidden inside a cave, and the only way to enter it was to climb down a rope through the hole at the entrance. Next to the cave stood an old rotten sign that said “Do Not Enter.” The three men looked down into it and saw that it was filled with ore and gems. It was beautiful. Legalist was yelling that they have to leave now and that they dare not enter the cave as the sign had said. But Antinomian turned to Christian and said,
“Hey, I have an idea. We can go down into the cave for some time just to sit and enjoy it’s beauty. Plus I’m sure sitting would help take off some stress of that burden you have.”
Christian thought about it and agreed. Maybe he did because Antinomian wanted to do it. Maybe he did it in spite of Legalist. Maybe some combination of both, we will never know. They found an old rope tied to a rock and began their descent, and, of course, Legalist stayed behind. The rope was moldy and wet, for it had been there for quite a while. The two men slid down until they hit the bottom. Inside was even more beautiful than they had imagined. The sun illuminated the ore and gems so that they sparkled with intensity. There were tunnels in every direction, though they were dark and cold. But the entrance was marvelous and warm. They sat down, and Christian laid back against his burden, which was relieving. They spent some time in the cave, and as they spent time in the cave it seemed to get warmer and warmer.
Then Christian said it was time to go. Antinomian did not want to leave just yet, so reluctantly he stayed. They might have stayed for a few minutes, or an hour or two or days or years. Time did not seem to be real inside the cave. Christian decided that it was time to leave, because it was getting too hot in the cave for him. So he went for the rope, and as soon as he put his weight on it, it snapped. They were trapped. Legalist could not and would not help, he only told them that they were to get out now and that they had made a poor decision in coming down.
“At least we were able to experience this.” Antinomian said. However, Christian had no desire to sit in the cave any longer. The ores had lost their luster, the gems seemed to become more dull and it was getting far too hot.
“I am going to try and leave now. Please pray for me.” Christian yelled up to Legalist.
“Good. I will pray for you, now leave.” Replied Legalist.
Antinomian chimed in saying “I will be here for you if you want to return.”
With that, Christian picked one of the many tunnels and left. The tunnel was dark. Very dark. So much so that Christian could not see where his next step would take him. And it was cold. Oh so very cold. Soon he began to miss the light of the ores and the warmth of the cave. He could hear the voice of Antinomian echoing off the walls “Come back! I’m lonely,” but he pushed forward. He kept on going, but the farther he got, the darker and colder it became, yet his memory of the cave became more and more extravagant. He imagined what life would be like without warmth or light or if he could ever get out of the cave. Soon it became freezing, and the darkness started to play tricks on his mind, so he turned around and ran back. As he was running he saw the light from the cave and could almost feel the warmth awaiting him.
Antinomian welcomed him with open arms saying “Welcome back friend!”
“What are you doing??” Legalist’s angry voice echoed down into the cave.
“The tunnels were cold and dark and I saw no sign of progress, so I returned.” said Christian.
“You must leave again immediately! Get out of the cave now!” Legalist ordered.
“I don’t want to return to the tunnel just yet. I want to stay here in the warmth again until I am ready to leave.”
Christian then began to ignore Legalist as he sat in the cave. The cave was warmer and more beautiful than he remembered. The ores and gems sparkled again and the warmth felt wonderful to his once frozen body. He sat there until it became again too hot and the beauty had once more faded. So again he asked for prayer and again he left. It was only a short amount of time before he returned, this time finding Legalist even more angry and the cave more beautiful and welcoming. This happened again and again and again, always trying different tunnels. Some trips were long, some were short, but Christian always ended back in the cave. Sometimes Christian didn’t even ask for prayer, he would spontaneously leave hoping to make it out on his own. But he never succeeded. The beauty and heat of the cave always brought him back. Legalist began to get so angry with Christian that Christian would hide in the tunnels and then return to the cave when Legalist was not looking, so as not to upset him even more. Soon Christian came out of hiding. He was tired of searching for a way out. He soon did not care that the heat almost seemed to burn him. He did not want to move anymore or risk angering Legalist further. It was better for him to just stay there. So he stayed there for a long time. So long that he almost forgot about his mission to get to the Celestial City.
Then one day Christian was listening to Legalist go on about the Celestial City and how they would never reach it at this point. He was filled with determination, this time would be the real time. So he asked for prayer and left. The tunnel seemed colder than before, maybe he had gotten too used to the warmth of the cave, or maybe this tunnel was colder than the others. And even with his newly found devotion to find a way out, he again found himself returning to the cave. This happened more and more, and Christian felt helpless. There was no way out of this Labyrinth. The more he returned, the more he felt like a failure.
One day he cried out to God “Help me, I need guidance! I have no idea which way to go! And the cold and the darkness are too much for me!”
And with that, he headed down another tunnel. He walked faster and more intent on making it out. After what could have been months of walking he saw a light ahead of him. He began to get excited and started to run for it! But as he got closer he realized that he had hit a dead end. It was another cave, but this time with no tunnels (minus the one leading there of course). This cave had no ores or gems and was not warm. But the sun shined through a very small hole in the ceiling. Christian cried out to God again for guidance. He did not want to return to the cave, but he could not continue on this way. Then out of thin air, a beautiful form started to appear. With its hands it pointed towards a corner in the cave. Christian walked over and looked, and in that corner, he found a small hole. A hole barely large enough for a grown man to crawl through, less like a grown man with burden on his back. Christian said “There is no way I could crawl into this hole! It’s just not possible!” And as he turned around to face the spirit, he saw it disappear. Christian sat down, not knowing what to do. He could not return, he could not go farther and the hole was far too small for him.
After some time, he decided to try going through the hole. As he went in, he realized that this hole was in fact another small tunnel. This one was colder and seemed to be even darker, if that was even possible. He squeezed his way into the tunnel and found that he could fit, though his burden kept his torso pushed up against the walls. He pulled with all his strength, dragging his burden and body inches at a time. As he pushed forward the dirt would be shoveled into his mouth and eyes. But he kept going, his mouth fled with the taste of soot and his eyes were red and watery. The rocks were sharp and would cut his arms, legs, face and torso. His hands were bloody, every grab would seem to tear away at his skin. He began to get light headed and claustrophobic. The walls seemed to be pushing in on him. But then, he saw a light. With every pull he prayed for strength and the determination to keep going. He could hear birds chirping and smell the aroma of flowers. He pulled his body faster and faster, throwing more dirt in his mouth and more cuts on his hands. As he approached the exit, he could see the sun and blue sky. He finally pulled himself out, collapsing to the ground onto the green grass. The sun instantly warmed his body as he found himself outside of the Labyrinth. The beauty outside was more extravagant than he remembered. There was a river close by and he went and washed himself and drank the crystal clear waters. He rejoiced and thanked God for helping him get out of the cave. And with that, he made his way on towards the Celestial City, never to look back again at the Labyrinth.
