Our youngest son, Zachary, has discovered the wonder of books.   One of his favorite book series is Thomas the Train.  One of the nice things about these books is that many of them teach some sort of moral lesson throughout the book.  Such was the case with a book I read to Zachary the other day.  The last page of it summarized the lesson best.

“I thought there was nothing a train could not do,” said Thomas.  “But now I know that is just not true.  I learned a big lesson from one little crack.  A train is only as good as its track.”

How is the relationship going between yourself and your track?  Who is it that is guiding you down the mile markers of life?  God, His Word, His Church, or only yourself?  The sad truth is that for many of us, we act just like Thomas does for much of the book.  We think highly of ourselves and act like we are sufficient and invincible, only to learn too late how insufficient we are.

Man is a rebel who wants to do his own thing without any or very little accountability for his actions. This has been the case since the fall of man, but it sure seems like the level of defiance centered in this rebellion is increasing.  We have lost our need for a track, and failed to see that we aren’t going anywhere in this life, or in the life to come without it.

A life worth living is grounded by freedom, and true freedom is not the ability for one to do as he pleases, but by the grace of God, to do what is right according to the absolute and righteous standards of truth He gives us in His Holy Word.  May more of us realize just how necessary a solid track is to carry us through the highways and byways of this life!  If we don’t, the best our children may ever glean from their life experiences is that the railways of life lead us only to our death, not to our life.