THE B & O Railway had on their records for years the account of a most thrilling experience.
Close to the railway line stood a log cabin in which there lived a poor widow and her daughter. One very stormy night they were awakened by a terrific crash. The railway bridge had gone down. Both were on the scene in minutes. The broken rails extended into the air over the deep gorge, while the rang torrent roared hundreds of feet below.
Knowing the express train was due in a short time, they quickly decided what they would do. All was soaking wet outside, so taking their only bed, a wooden one, and several wooden chairs, they carried them up the steep embankment and piled them in the middle of the track. Then they set them ablaze.
Still the express did not appear and there was no more wood to burn. The fire died down. The roar of the train was heard. Pulling off her shawl and other clothing, the mother threw them on the fire. Then with a pole she waved the flaming garments before the oncoming train. The shrill whistle blew as it rounded the bend. The beam of the great headlight lit up the track where the mother and daughter waved frantically. There was a terrific screaming of brakes, and the great express pulled up, only a few feet from the yawning chasm.
When the trainmen and passengers heard the news they were soon around the widow and daughter, thanking them profusely. Railway officials and passengers knelt tether and gave thanks to God for such a marvelous deliverance from death. A collection was taken and handed to the widow. The railroad made provision for her for the rest of her life.
This story suggests three outstanding lessons for us all.
1) The terrible danger of traveling at such a speed and all unconscious of what lies ahead. But that is nothing if you have never learned of your state by nature and practice, a sinner in the sight of a holy God, traveling as fast as time can carry you to an eternal destiny. God warns us of our danger so that we might embrace His Son as our Saviour. Scripture says, “There is none righteous, no not one” (Rom. 3:1010As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)); “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:25); “after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). Solemn words indeed given to awaken us to a sense of our danger.
2) The great sacrifice of the noble mother and daughter takes our minds at once to the most sacred spot in the universe — the cross where Jesus died. Could those two be silent when their fellow-creatures were about to perish? And could God be silent when fallen mankind was about to be launched into eternal death and judgment? The answer is, the Cross. John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) gives the greatest and sweetest words ever penned:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Sin must be punished in us or in a substitute of infinite value, and there on Calvary’s tree God found a ransom in Christ the willing sacrifice. There God judged sin, and now that Sacrifice, accepted by God, is the only ground of acceptance bore God, our only hope for salvation.
3) The wonderful deliverance wrought for those aboard the train. All was done for them; they had only to give thanks, and so it is with God’s salvation. The great work is finished, but He waits to hear you come to Him and say: “Gracious God, I thank Thee for sending Thy Son for a poor sinner like me. I thank Thee, O Lord, for taking my place under the judgment of God, and for delivering this soul of mine from eternal woe.” With all your heart thank Him now with your lips and from henceforth with your life.
ML-12/12/1971