My last post, Hell is My Destiny, ended my summer blog break with a message of sheer hopelessness. I am,
as are you, bound for eternity in the bad place and there’s nothing we can do
about it. Most of us don’t think too much about it because our earthbound
existence keeps us feeling hopeless enough already. I wrote about summer’s mass murders, terrorist
attacks, plagues, and about the impending pick of a new POTUS. As for that last
one, some might see a little piece of Heaven waiting for us depending on the
outcome of November eighth. Most of my community seems to lean one way. But I
can’t put my hope in it, and the leaners I know and love don’t place their
confidence in this slipshod election either.
as are you, bound for eternity in the bad place and there’s nothing we can do
about it. Most of us don’t think too much about it because our earthbound
existence keeps us feeling hopeless enough already. I wrote about summer’s mass murders, terrorist
attacks, plagues, and about the impending pick of a new POTUS. As for that last
one, some might see a little piece of Heaven waiting for us depending on the
outcome of November eighth. Most of my community seems to lean one way. But I
can’t put my hope in it, and the leaners I know and love don’t place their
confidence in this slipshod election either.
But back to Hell, I may have stuck a
needle in some readers’ sensitive expectations. After all, I am a Christian and
my message must portend a better way. As I stated at the end of the blog of
bleakness, I’m not on the Hellbound train. I used to be. I should be. But
there’s a new train coursing over the lost earth with a gracious conductor
ready to snatch us off the locomotive of destruction. So, I turned around. I’m
going the other way. But it wasn’t my doing, it was the conductor who rescued
me. If He hadn’t plucked me off the track I was on, I wouldn’t have changed
trains. Okay, enough with the trains.
needle in some readers’ sensitive expectations. After all, I am a Christian and
my message must portend a better way. As I stated at the end of the blog of
bleakness, I’m not on the Hellbound train. I used to be. I should be. But
there’s a new train coursing over the lost earth with a gracious conductor
ready to snatch us off the locomotive of destruction. So, I turned around. I’m
going the other way. But it wasn’t my doing, it was the conductor who rescued
me. If He hadn’t plucked me off the track I was on, I wouldn’t have changed
trains. Okay, enough with the trains.
We are going the wrong way. The only way
for us to turn around is to trust our Maker to turn us. It’s His choice to do
it. If it wasn’t then we wouldn’t even know we had a choice. It’s our choice to
say, “Yes, please rescue me. I have no other hope but You.” We can’t stop the
train, get off at the next station, or pick a different conductor. (Again with
the trains!) We’re speeding out of control toward one destination. Only God can
save us from the wreckage waiting for us when the broken track meets the jagged
cliff. Only He can put us on the new train.
for us to turn around is to trust our Maker to turn us. It’s His choice to do
it. If it wasn’t then we wouldn’t even know we had a choice. It’s our choice to
say, “Yes, please rescue me. I have no other hope but You.” We can’t stop the
train, get off at the next station, or pick a different conductor. (Again with
the trains!) We’re speeding out of control toward one destination. Only God can
save us from the wreckage waiting for us when the broken track meets the jagged
cliff. Only He can put us on the new train.
So here I am on a new course, on thetrain to glory. Bound for Heaven. But the view from my passenger car is no
different. I still witness death. Even since my last post, senseless violence took
more lives. The candidates faced off. They had a lot to say but said very
little. I don’t know who won the debate, but I feel like we the people lost. I’m still the citizen of a world with a
destiny. I’m also a citizen of Heaven and I will ride this train home.
No, it’s not about trains. The plan to
rescue us preceded trains by…forever. The God of eternity made a way. The way
is to follow His Son. It is the way of the cross proclaiming that all who
believe He died to save us and rose again will gain true life with Him. This is
the thing that changes destiny.
rescue us preceded trains by…forever. The God of eternity made a way. The way
is to follow His Son. It is the way of the cross proclaiming that all who
believe He died to save us and rose again will gain true life with Him. This is
the thing that changes destiny.
For God has not destined us for
wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I
Thessalonians 5:9
