Catching the 8:05

A MAN one day was on his way to catch a train. He had to get to work because he had an important meeting. He had to catch the 8:05 train. Now, it had rained the night before and the man was rushing out the door.

As he opened the back door, there was his little son playing in the mud. He was busy rubbing mud on his face, mud on his arms, and just having a good old time playing in the mud. The father, intent on catching the 8:05, jumped over his son, said good-bye, and rushed out of the house to catch the 8:05, but he slipped and fell in the mud next to his son.

So now the father is in the mud and the son is in the mud. But, the father had to catch the 8:05.

He had a place to go. Because of where he needed to go, he did not stay in the mud and play with his son. His son was enjoying playing in the mud and wasn’t trying to go anywhere. But the father had a train to catch.

He jumped up out of the mud. Best as he could, he cleaned himself off and took off running because he had a train to catch. He had to catch the 8:05 and he knew that on the 8:05 there was going to be a restroom where he could clean up the dirt that he had accumulated during the time he was in the mud. There are two kinds of people today.

There are some who are playing in the mud and are not trying to go anywhere. There are other people who are in the mud but don’t want to be.

Maybe you’ve slipped in the mud or maybe you’ve walked right into the mud, but now it has dawned on you that you’ve got a train to catch—a place to go. You’ve got a God to know, a life to live, experiences to have, and you want all that God has for you. Maybe you’ve decided to leave the mud, to repent, to turn, and to catch the train because on this train, God has got a restroom that will clean you up. He’s got the blood of Jesus Christ that will transform you and take you to the destination of God’s purpose for your life.

Sin always has consequences. But the good news is that grace is greater than sin.