It was an uneventful train rain ride on an uneventful afternoon. Until it wasn’t.
Stepping off on to the station platform in my home town, I heard a voice yelling. Actually, it would be more accurate to say he was screaming: "No! No! No!" As he shouted, the train conductor's arms were flailing—but only for a moment.
That’s when he dove off the train. Having managed to dodge him, I had to know why he was rushing with the power of an NFL receiver.
Then I spied a little boy one car back exiting the train with his dad. Somehow, the kid lost his grip on the string of his purple balloon. There was little wind, but enough that the thing drifted down below the platform next to the wheels of the train car—which was about to move out. And that's just where the kid was reaching. The conductor dove into the pile and swept the child to safety, sparing not one second, not one shred of effort.
As I look back, there was nothing pleasant about the conductor’s warning. The scene was jolting. But doesn’t that sound like another rescue story—ours? Ponder anew what it cost Jesus to save you and me.
There was nothing pleasant about the whip that tore the flesh from Jesus’ back. Or the crown that drizzled blood from His head. Or the nails that pinned his hands and feet to the cross.
Which takes me to one important takeaway: When God says, “No!” He doesn’t do so for the sake of being negative. He does so for our good. He rescued us once on the cross. And He has every intention of keeping us safe.
Beloved radio preacher Robert A. Cook reminds, “God is undertaking to get you home to heaven safely. And nothing is going to deter His holy purpose.”