The End of the Line

In 1995, I was a patrolman with the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office on day shift. One spring morning just after sunrise, someone reported an overturned vehicle at the railroad crossing on Highway 169, just north of I -20. When I arrived, I found a van, upside down in the ditch. It was pinned against the banks on both sides making the back doors the only way to get inside. I ran to the van, opened the doors and found a woman crushed between the roof and the back seat. It appeared the van was involved in a crash with a train, and the driver was not wearing a seatbelt. She had come to the end of her line.

There was no train in sight, but from the tire marks in the pavement at the crossing, it was clear a collision occurred. I spoke to the railroad company and found out the last train passed west-bound at 1:30 am. The railroad company called the conductor who by then was deep in Texas and had him stop the train. The conductor walked the line and inspected his equipment. When he got to the fifty-third boxcar he found damage where the van struck it. That meant the van crashed into the moving train and was thrown into the ditch where it went unseen for five hours. No one on the train knew the crash occurred.

When I finished working the scene, my Lieutenant and I drove to a little house in Shreveport. I knocked on the door, and a woman of about 60 answered. The Lieutenant asked if we could come inside. She reluctantly let us in. He asked her to sit down and gently broke the news of her daughter’s death to her. She screamed, leaned over a table, and wept.

Train crashes are rare, but when they occur, they often result in tragedy. Patrolmen know three important facts about trains to help them investigate railroad related crashes. First, since trains run on tracks laid to specific destinations, they always know where they are going. Second, trains are gigantic pieces of machinery and cannot stop instantly, so they always have the right of way. Third, because trains have the right of way, they are never at fault in any crash involving motor vehicles. 

In the same three ways, God is like a train. He always knows where He (and we) are going because he is the sovereign Creator. “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

God is like a train because he always has the right of way. He who creates has the right over his creatures. He gives life to the humble and executes judgment on the proud.

God is like a train because he is never at fault. One word that uniquely describes him is holy. Holiness is moral perfection. God’s holiness is so great, he is completely faultless and separate from his creatures, and he gives us a requirement, “Without holiness no one will see God.” (Heb 12:14) 

This requirement is impossible with men because we are sinful. God created mankind to glorify or please himself, but sin interrupted paradise, and as a result, the children of man are born wanting to please themselves instead of God. How then can we fulfill God’s requirement of holiness when we defy his purpose for us the moment we take our first breath?

Here’s the good news: God doesn’t run rough shod over his rebellious creatures. He warns, he promises, he commands, and here lies the great hope for us…he loves and forgives. There is only one source for this hope, and it is found in Jesus Christ. Those who see themselves the way God sees them (unholy) must abandon all hope in themselves, declare spiritual bankruptcy, turn away from their sin, and trust in the holiness of someone else: Christ alone. 

One day we will all come to the end of the line. On that day, don’t stand before the throne of God declaring your own holiness. Have Christ as your alibi…