Running for the train

Getting off the train at Concourse E at Atlanta Airport, I met a fellow running wide open with a frantic look on his face. He was shoving by everyone leaving the train desperately trying to reach the doors of the train before they closed. Probably trying to make a connection and cutting it very close. I watched his face as he neared the doors. There was a change of expression from frantic to confident as he began to realize he would make it onto the train. As we pushed past me and another passenger to enter the doors, his face broke into a big smile as he celebrated his victorious march. I had to move on toward my gate and was unable to stay and see his reaction as he realized the train he had so valiantly overtaken was now out of service as it was at the end of the line! Instead of a successful beginning or continuation of his journey toward his destination, he had hit a dead end, mistaking it for his desired goal.

That’s a place I have been before in my spiritual life, and we can probably all identify with his dilemma. How many times have we chosen a path, worked hard to get there and found out we were at a dead end or heading in the wrong direction. It’s like deciding to pursue God with all your heart and then finding out you were chasing after religion. You had jumped through the hoops, met the demands, kept the rules, but were no closer to God than when you started. Anytime we base our relationship with God on our performance, on what we can do, instead of on what Jesus had done, we are getting on the wrong train and will end up disappointed and disillusioned. That’s why it’s called “dis-illusioned”—because we were chasing an illusion. I think it was Bill Hybels who said you spell religion “D_O” and Christianity “D_O_N_E”. Pursue a relationship with God by celebrating and living in what Jesus has done and, even when you jump on the wrong train, you’ll find God with you, smiling and ready to lead you to the right one.