Facing Failure -
Sir Knight of the Splendid Way

The warrior drew his sword, heart racing. Eyeing down his enemy, he shifted his foot to the right, readying his next move. His opponent bellowed with laughter. “Do you really believe you will be able to overcome me?!” He asked mockingly, a black banner rippling and snapping in the gale above his head. The black knight. Constant, knight of the splendid way, wiped a bead of sweat drawn by fear onto his brow. If he was to win this fight, it may very well be his last.

Sir Knight of the Splendid Way tells the tale of the knight, Sir Constant, and his desire to follow the path to “The City Splendid”. Along the way, he faces trials and tests that seek to stop him, but none that are able to do so permanently.

His main adversary throughout the story is the Black Knight, a mysterious figure who follows Constant throughout his travels, occasionally coming to the forefront of the story to attack him.

The book is an allegory, much in the same way as pilgrim’s progress is. However, this book is much, much more that just a Pilgrim’s Progress copy.

Where Pilgrim’s Progress is a broad view of the Christian life in general, Sir Knight of the Splendid Way focuses on a specific aspect of a Christian’s walk with God: temptation, failure, and overcoming.

In many of the trials Sir Constant faces, he seems to fail: he believes the lies of the enemy, he does not heed important warnings, or relies on his own strength. At times, he even loses focus of why he is on the path, and must be reminded to continue towards his goal.

Yet, Sir Constant, in spite of all of his many “Failures”, attains the city in the end, and goes on to spend the rest of his days there.

So how is it that such a “failure” can be considered such a success? TO understand it, let’s look at a soldier.

Perhaps, as a young man, the soldier was inspired to defend his country, her honor, and her innocent people. He spends years in training, and preparation to do his duty, and lay down his life for his cause.

Many years pass, and the soldier is sent into battle. For weeks, he fights bravely, showing courage where others show fear. Then comes the fateful day: our soldier is shot in the foot. He is rushed to the medic, who is able to staunch the bleeding in time to save his life, but not in time to save his foot.

So tell me, has the soldier failed to defend his country? Maybe. Maybe he grieves his loss, and returns home, nevermore to uphold his cause. But he doesn’t. He returns to the front lines, and assists in any way he can.

After many more weeks of fighting, in the midst of a terrible battle, the soldier loses the use of his hands. Then his smell, and later, the use of one of his eyes. After any of these, has the soldier failed?

He has lost much, undoubtedly. Yet, he has not failed. Even when the day comes that this soldier dies, he will not have failed; he will have succeeded in laying down his life for his country.

When, then, can this soldier fail? When they choose to give up. When they choose to lay aside the decisions they have made, the pledges of honor they have sworn, and creep back to the world to live a life of leisure. This is when they have failed.

The same is true for you and I. We may make mistakes (I know I’ve made plenty). Yet, as long as we do not give up, we cannot fail. Every person will sin, and make mistakes. It’s a part of being human. And when we do make those mistakes, Satan will take the opportunity to convince us we’ve “Blown it”.

Sure, there may be consequences for sin. Just like the soldier, we may “lose” some of what we once had, but we will not have failed.

This is what I love so much about Sir Constant – He fails, time and again. Yet, after each failure, he picks himself up, and keeps. On. Going.

If you’re in a position today where you’ve made some mistakes, and you don’t think God can use you any longer, I would encourage you so strongly to purchase a copy Sir Knight of the Splendid Way (available right here - coming soon!), and give it a read.

Just remember that, no matter what you’ve done, no matter what you’ve lost, and no matter what you have left, God CAN and WILL still do a GREAT and MIGHTY work with you.

Just never give up.

And if you need some encouragement on how to keep on going in the darkest of circumstances, check out our article here on someone who did just that!