The other day on my way to work I saw something I'd never noticed before. Heading toward the office in the ITB (that’s inside the beltline for non-Raleigh-ites) traveling on Downtown Blvd, I noticed this string of cabooses linked one to the other on a hill behind some warehouses. Is the plural of caboose actually cabooses or is it caboosi? Well I skipped the Wade Ave exit ( the Methodist Building is close by) and drove to the next exit at Peace St. Then I did a 180 and got back on Capital and restarted my quest to find the mysterious train cars.
Suddenly they reappeared, so I drove around behind a warehouse, parked the car and got out @ the end of a deserted railroad track. I walked the abandoned track until I was close enough to snap a picture with my blackberry. In total, eight cars were there – resting quietly. They were joined together - all the same kind of train car, with no engine in sight. I was all alone. Weeds and kudzu were my only witnesses other than God.
As I was snapping the photos I heard the rumbling of train engines coming from another parallel track behind me - just beyond the trees. The whole thing seemed/seems surreal and parabolic now that I pause to reflect. A string of mobile resting places linked together on a track amputated from the mainline without the needed power to go anywhere.
And so it is for all who attempt to experience LIFE apart from Christ. As Jesus reminded us almost 2K previous, “I am the vine…You are the branches….Apart from me you can do nothing.” Life without Christ at the center is akin to linking oneself to a string of train cars, none of which is empowered to go anywhere. It makes me stop and wonder, Am I intentionally staying connected to the Engine and traveling where the open tracks lead? Or am I prone to hitch to any old box car and content to waste away on the deserted side-tracks which are so prevalent. Who knows? This may have been a burning bush, well burning caboose……..
As I was snapping the photos I heard the rumbling of train engines coming from another parallel track behind me - just beyond the trees. The whole thing seemed/seems surreal and parabolic now that I pause to reflect. A string of mobile resting places linked together on a track amputated from the mainline without the needed power to go anywhere.
And so it is for all who attempt to experience LIFE apart from Christ. As Jesus reminded us almost 2K previous, “I am the vine…You are the branches….Apart from me you can do nothing.” Life without Christ at the center is akin to linking oneself to a string of train cars, none of which is empowered to go anywhere. It makes me stop and wonder, Am I intentionally staying connected to the Engine and traveling where the open tracks lead? Or am I prone to hitch to any old box car and content to waste away on the deserted side-tracks which are so prevalent. Who knows? This may have been a burning bush, well burning caboose……..
In Christ.
Jon(the Methodist)
Jon(the Methodist)
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