Last week featured orphan trains that brought thousands of orphans from east coast cities to the Midwest and South during the late 1880s and early 1990s, and how all of us are orphans in the Kingdom of God until we receive Christ as our savior and become adopted into the family of God. This is the rest of the story.
Sooner or later we will all leave this place, heading to the Eternity Train Station (which looks like a funeral home). Have you noticed that when you take someone to the station, they leave all their stuff behind? There are two trains departing from the station, headed in opposite directions. The first train, the Jesus Train, glows with the aura of the Holy Spirit. You can hear hymns being sung, and a special joy expressed by people boarding the train. The ticketmaster is Jesus Himself, who offers free tickets to heaven to all who repent of their sins and receive His gift of salvation.
People who pass by this train come to the Party Train, for those who have had a great time on earth, indulging their fleshly desires, pursuing worldly affairs, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, unencumbered by moral restraint. It will advertise a great party for the entire journey into the next world, which will be even more exciting. The ticketmasters are charming men and women who work for the Father of Lies, and lure the unsuspecting onto their train. The price of the ticket is your soul.
As the trains leave the station, the people on the Jesus train experience increasing joy and anticipation as their train winds up through beautiful landscapes that are beyond their imaginations. They finally reach their destination, and as they pass through the gates of heaven, they hear a large chorus of angels rejoicing at their arrival and are welcomed with great joy by the saints who went before them.
Meanwhile, the people on the Party Train realize they made a huge mistake. As the train heads down a long incline and picks up speed, the temperature gets hotter and hotter. They try to get off the train, but they cannot, for the doors are locked. Their destiny is sealed, their screams are drowned out by the roar of the train, and they are headed for the Lake of Fire.
So which train will you be on? And which train will your friends and family be on? We have a short window of time before it is our time to head for the station. Let us reach out to those around us and encourage them to get on the right train, for time is short, eternity is a very, very long time, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
Sooner or later we will all leave this place, heading to the Eternity Train Station (which looks like a funeral home). Have you noticed that when you take someone to the station, they leave all their stuff behind? There are two trains departing from the station, headed in opposite directions. The first train, the Jesus Train, glows with the aura of the Holy Spirit. You can hear hymns being sung, and a special joy expressed by people boarding the train. The ticketmaster is Jesus Himself, who offers free tickets to heaven to all who repent of their sins and receive His gift of salvation.
People who pass by this train come to the Party Train, for those who have had a great time on earth, indulging their fleshly desires, pursuing worldly affairs, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, unencumbered by moral restraint. It will advertise a great party for the entire journey into the next world, which will be even more exciting. The ticketmasters are charming men and women who work for the Father of Lies, and lure the unsuspecting onto their train. The price of the ticket is your soul.
As the trains leave the station, the people on the Jesus train experience increasing joy and anticipation as their train winds up through beautiful landscapes that are beyond their imaginations. They finally reach their destination, and as they pass through the gates of heaven, they hear a large chorus of angels rejoicing at their arrival and are welcomed with great joy by the saints who went before them.
Meanwhile, the people on the Party Train realize they made a huge mistake. As the train heads down a long incline and picks up speed, the temperature gets hotter and hotter. They try to get off the train, but they cannot, for the doors are locked. Their destiny is sealed, their screams are drowned out by the roar of the train, and they are headed for the Lake of Fire.
So which train will you be on? And which train will your friends and family be on? We have a short window of time before it is our time to head for the station. Let us reach out to those around us and encourage them to get on the right train, for time is short, eternity is a very, very long time, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism