I used to hang out on the train tracks, a popular place, and the cool place where “everyone who was anyone” hung out. I heard stories that a train was coming, and it was dangerous to stay there. I had never seen a train come this way and didn’t know anyone who had seen a train on these tracks, so I went on having fun and being part of the crowd.
One day a man told me I could come to the Station, a place of peace, safety, and rest. He said a great price had been paid for it, but the Station Master himself made this offer for free. I wondered how this could be. Why would anyone care about me? Why would he give me something which cost so much?
I told my friends on the tracks about the offer. They laughed and said, “that is just for old folks,” but the invitation didn’t specify an age. A rich guy said, “they only want your money.” Since I didn’t have much, I didn’t think money was the catch. Another friend said, “you will have to follow rules.” If the station was such a great place, rules didn’t sound so bad.
I found a railroad guidebook and discovered the Station was part of a plan to save people from dying on the tracks. A train was coming, and the only place of safety was the Station. The Station Master loved me (and others like me) so much he sent his one and only son to build this place of safety, security, and rest. His son even died to complete it.
I accepted his free invitation and came to the Station. I felt the love the Station Master had put into this place. I wanted to tell others how wonderful the Station is. I was surprised to find my friends on the tracks still resisted coming here. They said I was intolerant and had no right to push on them what I had found in the Station. After all, they still hadn’t seen a train on the tracks and saw no reason to leave.
I wanted to make them come into the Station. It would be too late once the train came. The Station Master told me it doesn’t work like that. The people on the tracks must make the choice. We couldn’t lie, trick, or force them to come to the Station. We could share the love we have found here and show them in the railroad guidebook about the coming train. Some would accept the invitation, and many would not.
I noticed one morning the people were gone from the tracks and even some from the Station, so I asked the Station Master what had happened. He told me the train had come through during the night and everyone still on the tracks died. A few people from the tracks had come through the narrow gate to the Station just before the train arrived. They were safe, but the others had perished. I asked, what about to the people gone from the Station, it is supposed to be a place of safety? The Station Master smiled gently and said, “That is why we built a station. When the train came, they boarded and went home.”
Wayne Lance – That’s Good News to Share!