[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 14/May/2017]
How do you envisage eternity? Perhaps your mind goes to the length of last week’s sermon, or maybe the wait until your next payday.
Picture, if you will, a simple railway station of the type beloved by makers of cowboy movies, a stop on some mid-western prairie or a wayside halt on Australia’s Nullarbor Plain where the track extends uninterrupted for hundreds of miles. Our vantage point gives a good view of the platform and the rails for a short distance either side. To the east, the light of dawn reveals two silver rails stretching beyond our vision whilst to the west the setting sun will give those rails a golden hue as they stretch out of sight.
A train arrives; a youth steps down – he seems too young to be travelling alone. There is something familiar about him, but we cannot place it. His backpack is light upon his shoulders and he sets off into the surrounding area with a confident air.
As evening draws in, an old man approaches the station; his step is slow and he walks with a stick. His backpack is heavy but he has a determined manner. Again, we think we recognise him. He gets onto the train and it moves off, disappearing into the sunset.
Did you recognise your role in our little scenario?
The rails stretch from eternity past to eternity future, beyond our range of vision, and the train of history pauses only for a day. As Shakespeare might have written – “All the world’s a platform, and all the men and women merely travellers …”.
What is in your backpack of experiences and, more importantly, where is your ticket taking you?
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
