What comes to mind when you think of a pilgrim? White collar? Big, black hat with a buckle on the brim?
If so, you’re likely imagining the English people who arrived in North America on a ship called Mayflower. These settlers fit the definition of pilgrim perfectly. In general, a pilgrim . . .
- goes on a long journey
- often to a foreign country
- with a moral or religious purpose.
The Mayflower pilgrims . . .
- left England
- for America
- in search of religious freedom.
Check, check, check!
Fun fact: The first pilgrim baby born in the New World was a little boy named Peregrine. His name means “coming from another country.”
But the 1620s Plymouth folks aren’t the only pilgrims. Not even close. Other pilgrimages people take:
- The Abraham Path follows the route people believe Abraham took across the Middle East. It runs through Israel, Egypt, Eastern Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Abraham is an important figure in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
- The Kumano Kodo, Japan. Several ancient pilgrimage paths meet at a Shinto shrine in the mountains of Japan. Tradition says traveling to Kumano Kodo will bring salvation.
- Hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims are required to take this trip at least once in a lifetime if they can afford it. People go on hajj to seek forgiveness.
Have you read John Bunyan’s classic book The Pilgrim’s Progress? If you’re a Christian, your whole life is a pilgrimage like Christian’s in the book. You don’t need a travel agent. You’re already on the journey! You started like everyone does—in the fallen world. You’re headed home to heaven. You’re not taking a trip to earn God’s favor. You already have that!
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. — Psalm 84:5
