Does this Railroad Lead to Heaven?#
Children teach adults with innocent words long lost to the adults they unwittingly instruct.
This true story is told:
The year was 1894. On a cool mid-west evening the train pulled into a near empty station. A dishevelled eight year old lass unsteadily climbed aboard. She held close a ragged doll, a tiny purse peeked from her pocket and a worn pillow slumped under her right armpit. She appeared weary and on sitting down promptly leant her head upon the pillow.
A gentlemanly conductor approached her and asked where she was headed. Her reply:
"I'm going to heaven."
Kindly and softly the conductor responded:
"who is paying your fare?". Her simple reply:
"Mister, does this railroad lead to heaven and does Jesus travel upon it?"
In the tenderest of tones he could now muster the conductor answered:
"I don't think so, why do you ask?" He then received the answer that led the entire carriage to tears:
"Before my mommy died she sang to me about a heavenly railroad and how Jesus had paid the fare for everyone. Nobody sings to me now, so I thought I'd take the train and go to see my mommy." #
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength... (Psalm 8:2)
Three facts why children have stronger faith than adults:
- Children do not know how to disbelieve. They do not have sufficient knowledge to suspend divinely implanted truths. (The Tree of Knowledge, though education informs children to suppress Divine truth as they grow up.)
- Children have little distance between them and God. They have not learned how to widen the gap.
- Children can model faith to adults. Their greatest power is innocence.
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. (Matthew 18:2-4)
To position self such that faith is nurtured for growth is far harder than to position self for decay.
Today's Soul Snippet:
"Do not plan for what is in your pocket, but for what is in MY pocket." ~ GOD
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