Farmer Lowe was crossing the railway line on his way to a neighboring farm when he noticed a drop in the tracks. The evening train was almost due, and he had no time to notify the railway agents at the nearest station, so there was no one else who could warn the engineer but himself. Swinging a lantern with one hand and a white handkerchief with the other, he stood for a few minutes by the side of the line. He could hear the roar of the approaching train, and, disregarding the possibility of being killed, he stepped between the tracks and brought the train to a standstill.
What a scene met the eyes of engineer and passengers alike. Only two hundred yards ahead was a huge gap. A cloudburst that afternoon had caused a washout, forty feet in depth and sixty-five feet across. The tracks and ties remained intact, swinging precariously across the yawning chasm.
Lowe’s prompt action had saved the lives of many of the passengers. Little did they dream as the train sped its way over the smooth rails that they were going straight on to destruction unless the train was stopped.
For one at least on that train sudden death would have meant sudden glory. A veteran preacher of the gospel was one of the passengers, and he was traveling on an evangelistic tour. Death for him carried no eternal terrors.
But for the lost it would have meant the shortening of their lives and the final settling of where they would spend eternity, for as they enter eternity, so will they spend it. If they enter lost, they will spend eternity lost. Who can measure the horror of that?
When the engineer of the train saw Lowe’s signals, like a sensible man he put on the brakes and was able to stop the train in time. But what shall we say of the lost who disregard the warnings of Scripture? This printed page is a signal flashed across your path. Will you be warned? God grant that you may, for if you refuse to put on the brakes, you will ensure your eternal destruction. Be wise!
A collection was made by the passengers who had been saved from death or injury, and it amounted to $25.00. Counting 200 passengers on the train, this contribution averaged 12½ cents per head. One could wish that the passengers had had no collection rather than express their gratitude in such an ungenerous fashion. We should think whoever handed this paltry sum over must have blushed to think how ungrateful the passengers were!
But what shall be said of the price paid for the sinner’s ransom? Words cannot describe it. Mathematics have no figures to express this sum. It was an infinite price, even the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And on our part, what response have we given? Lowe’s prompt action in flagging the train involved only a little trouble (aside from the risk) on his part, but the Saviour’s action caused His journey from all the glory and joy of heaven to our dark and sinful world. Remember that “Christ Jesus . . . gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:56). It was for all: Therefore, it was for you. His death can save you from eternal disaster. What is your response to Him?
The passengers’ $25.00 was a pitiable sum. Has your response been better? Can you say, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:1515Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. (2 Corinthians 9:15))?