The Train is Coming

[dddoo7]

A person on railroad tracks hears a train approaching, looks behind him, sees the train coming and then freezes on the tracks in fear. Trains will in a sense “outrun” their own sound which means that by the time you hear the train blow the whistle, it is virtually on top of you. If a train engineer sees a person on the track, he will blow the whistle. Often it takes more than one blow of the whistle to get the average person’s attention. Trains cannot stop like cars can. An average freight train has about 100 cars, weighs 12 million pounds, and takes a full mile to stop. Also, due to the sheer size of the train there is an optical illusion which happens with trains. When you see a train coming, it looks as if it is traveling half as fast and is two times farther away from you than it actually is. For example, if it is going 60 miles per hour and is a half mile away, it looks as if it is traveling 30 mph and is one mile away. All of these situations contribute to the danger of trains.

However, many of the same problems are seen in the spiritual world as well. Many people, when they realize they are wrong and are lost will simply “freeze” where they are and refuse to change. We know that our life is limited and that the end is coming. When we realize that we need to change and live differently, what is it that keeps us from making those changes? Sometimes it is the struggle to break the bad habits that we have made. Sometimes it is someone else who is pulling us away from making changes. Sometimes we know punishment is coming, but we just don’t want to change.

Many times judgement approaches much faster than we think it should. Just as a train appears to be moving slower and appears farther away, so does judgement at times. We feel like we have the entire rest of our lives. We have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Yet this mindset is an illusion. We may not have the rest of this day. Our lives may come to an abrupt and sudden end and our soul be standing before God in judgment. Even if we live out the rest of our lives and die of old age, the end is still approaching much faster than we think. Changes are sometimes more difficult to make than we think they will be.

Many people who need to make changes in their spiritual life must be told more than once before they come to a
full realization of the changes that need to be made. Just as many don’t register the train whistle on the first blow, most people don’t register the spiritual warnings the first time they hear them either.

Life is moving fast. Our purpose in life is to glorify God by doing good and living righteously. Our righteous living will be used by God to bring others to right. Many times we feel like we have plenty of time, however our time to shine is now. Our time to listen to the warnings is now. Our time to help others and make a difference is now and the only way we can do that is if we are willing to get ourselves right with God now!

2 Corinthians 6:1 says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”