Trains and Tornadoes
Several years ago, I worked in Stockbridge. I love trains. Many lunches were spent by the railroad tracks eating my lunch and watching the trains pass by. I knew that before they got to me, they had passed over highway 83 south of Monticello, through Jackson, Jenkinsburg, and McDonough, before they got to where I was in Stockbridge.
I loved those days of reading my Bible and my daily devotions, having my quiet prayer-time, and waiting for a train. I could have gone without eating and it still would have been a five-star lunch!
I also love the weather. I love watching documentaries about tornadoes. I would love to go storm-chasing out west so that I could see tornadoes far away. Around here, by the time you see one, and you hear something that sounds like a train, it’s too late to be at a safe distance for viewing. Both—trains and tornadoes-can be mesmerizing.
If you have ever watched a train coming towards you, it appears to be moving ever so slowly.
You change your opinion when it gets closer and you realize it is rolling fast along the rails quite rapidly. The same is true with a tornado. If a tornado is coming towards you, it appears to be moving ever so slowly. Then, when it is almost upon you, you realize it is moving viciously and quickly towards you.
Life is like trains and tornadoes. Life seems slow and monotonous at times. It never seems to be moving in the direction or at the speed we think. Then, in the blink of an eye, it is over. Our end, our demise, our sunset years, whatever you choose to call it, is upon us. For most, the ending comes far too soon.
Whether the end is a week from now, a decade from now, or 50 years from now, we never imagine it sneaking up on us so quickly.
Otherwise, we would have lived our lives a little more differently, especially in our relationship with God and our eternal destiny.
My wife and I both lost our dads earlier than we expected. Many of you have lost loved ones earlier than you expected. All to say, none of us know the day or the hour when we cross over from living in the here to living in eternity. Our choices for eternity are two—heaven or hell. This is not a destination you go to for a long weekend. It’s a place of permanence.
Every day I feel sure I say and do things which buy me tickets on both railroads. This is why I find it extremely important to meet with God daily, and seek forgiveness for the sins I’ve committed. Otherwise, I feel sure, I would be derailed to an eternity that is one not of my choosing – hell.
My prayer is that you will make it a priority to meet with God daily and to grow in your relationship with God so that your life will not be derailed and your final destiny is hell