September 14, 2007

The Railroad Truck

I drove into the Tiger Mart in Pilot Point the other day and there it was, sitting in front of the store. It was a pickup truck. But not just any ordinary pickup truck. It said “Union Pacific” on the sides of the doors, and in addition to the four rubber tires there was a set of elevated steel wheels that allowed that truck to run on railroad tracks. I have seen these trucks on many occasions running down the tracks, but this was my first time to see one up close. I have to admit that I was fascinated.

Sometimes, as I am crossing the railroad tracks that lie just to the west of Highway 377, I will take a moment and glance down the tracks in both directions. The tracks fascinate me, stretching endlessly (or so it seems) to the north and the south. I remember riding the train as a young boy, and the sound and feel of the tracks beneath me. As I sat there and contemplated this truck with railroad wheels, there was a moment when my mind wandered off into fantasy and I imagined turning my truck north or south and just following the tracks as far as they go. An endless journey into the vast beauties and mysteries of the landscape. A journey without traffic congestion or stoplights or complicated directions provided by some internet mapping site.

We often talk about the concept of journey around here at Christ Church, and I don’t think there is any better Biblical image for life than that of journey. Beginning with Abraham and continuing with all the patriarchs and Moses and right down to the journey that Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem, the Bible speaks about life that is fluid and changing, always calling us into the unknown. How we wish it could be as easy and straight and uncomplicated as those railroad tracks! In reality, our spiritual journeys are more like the ones we take in our automobiles with the complicated maps: congestion on the interstate, a wrong turn here, a detour there. Even most of our Biblical heroes experienced the challenges of finding their way through life.

There is hope. The Old Testament speaks of the Lord who will one day make the path straight. I believe that will be the case. Meanwhile, we are in this together, and the journey can even be fun and invigorating if you have the right traveling companions!