The Adventure of the Pass of Tears
Weekly Reading: Sir Knight of the Splendid Way Chapter Six
Dear knight, we’ve come to a place in our story where every true follower of the King must travel—through the Pass of Tears. This is a place where even the most promising of knights have fallen by the way.
What lessons can we glean from a place with a title so unpalatable to our ears and a theme so distasteful to our hearts? They are the lessons of Suffering and Pain; Hopelessness and Despair. Who delights to read of these subjects or takes heart in the lessons they teach? Let us read on.
Sir Constant has already faced many great perils, conquered many deadly foes, and even faced the silent horseman. But the Pass of Tears poses a new and deadlier threat. It is here the greatest danger lies, in this land where darkness and despair cause those who dwell there to forget and forsake all—even their King.
“If the King had Lordship here, could the loss and terror of the Pass go on forever? Nay, there is no King, there is no Warden, and the story is but a story!” says his despondent companion.
And our young knight is not exempt from these same doubts. When two mysterious sisters come, shrouded in mist and darkness, one touches his heart, leaving his senses deadened and his courage crumbled to pieces. Just one touch and his steadfast heart is tempted, if even for a moment, to believe that it’s all just a lie.
“Nay!” said his quivering heart, “if there were a Great King, this evil could not be!”
Have you ever been here?
Maybe, dear knight, even now you are abiding in the Pass of Tears, and Sorrow and Pain are daily visitors to your door. Maybe you too are tempted to believe your King has abandoned you, or worse, was never real in the first place. Maybe you’ve thought your suffering was a punishment?
This is not so! The King Himself has trodden through the Pass of Tears and has felt the touch of Sorrow and Pain. As Sir Knight gazed upon the noble appearance of the Warden, he noticed the scars upon his brows.
“These are the scars of ancient thorns, and they shall never pass away: for they are a sign to all mankind that the Warden himself has faced the direful peril of the Pass of Tears and knows the utmost of its power.”
Look up faithful knight…“weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b). “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness” (Psalm 30:11). Take heart my friends, even the veiled sisters of suffering, pain, hopelessness, and despair are under the King’s command, and they cannot go beyond what he allows.
Why the suffering? Because the Pass of Tears is the teacher of advancement. It is there that our character is formed, our hope is revived, and where we experience the deepest love (Romans 5:3-5).
Perhaps you have never travelled through the Pass of Tears or had your heart touched by Sorrow and Pain. Know that your time will come, as it must to every true servant of the King. But you need not be unprepared. Learn how to wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, hold fast to the shield of faith, and wear the breastplate of righteousness firmly over your heart (Ephesians 6).
And finally my brothers and sisters of the Splendid Way, remember that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). When we do this, the sinister sisters of Sorrow and Pain will have no power to make us despair.
So look up dear knight. Like Sir Constant, may we also look to our King, “the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:2, 3).
Memory Verse(s): Hebrews 1:1-2
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Sir Knight of the Splendid Way
Deep into the Vale of Promise ventures Sir Constant, a young knight who desires nothing more than to be in the service of the Great King. Though unworthy of this high calling, he sets forth on the Splendid Way—the perilous road that all who desire to serve the King must take. His faith and valor will be tested, his strength and endurance will be challenged, and his allegiance to the one true King will be proven. A rich allegory wrought with biblical truth.
