As we left the hill area that contained the ruins of the city, we began a walk though a low swampy area with many bogs in it.
We rounded a grassy hillock and came upon a man wading in the mud and muck alongside the road. We paused and watched him struggle as he made very slow progress. At each step, he reached down and pulled at the top of his knee high boots in order to free his leg and keep the boots from coming off. The mud made a loud sucking sound each time he freed his foot from the mire.
My friend approached him and asked him “Where are you headed?”
The man replied, “I have been told that beyond this swamp there is a beautiful City that welcomes all good men. In this City, everyone is treated with kindness, and there is no hunger, or thirst, or want of any kind. I am sure that I will find it just around this next bend here.”
My friend then said to him, “Give me your hand and I will lift you from the mire, and you can walk along the road with us.”
At this, the man hesitated. He looked bewildered, and he clearly did not understand what my friend was saying.
He answered thus: “Sir, I do not wish to be rude, but I am in a hurry. I must be on my way immediately if I am to reach my destination in time.”
He then put his head down, and reached for his boot top, and took another slow and tortuous step.
My friend again invited him, “Give me your hand so I can help you from the mire, and you can walk the road with us.”
But the man, intent on his trudging, did not hear my friend. Once again he reached for his boot top, pulled his foot from the mud, and took another slow, agonizing step.
My friend, looking troubled, started down the road again, and I fell into step beside him.
As we walked He said to me, “Perhaps next time I pass this way, the man will hear Me and understand.”