A large daily newspaper recently had a nice picture of a hero, John Kohl, who had just received a medal and a plaque from the Federal Railway Administration.
Our hero, we were told, was a 42-year-old train engineer with many years of experience. One day last July he was at the throttle of a 62-car freight train, traveling about 20 to 25 miles per hour through a town in Pennsylvania. Always watchful, his keen eye spotted an object down the track. Immediately he sounded warning whistles and began an emergency stop. The crew gazed in speechless horror as it became clear that the “object” was a tiny two-year-old girl playing on the tracks.
Startled by the terrible screeching sounds of the train’s brakes, little Jeanne jumped up and began to run clumsily — not to safety, but down the tracks!
There was no time to lose since the train couldn’t possibly stop in time. John coolly clambered out of the cabin and quickly picked his way down the front of the engine onto the snowplow (or “cow catcher”) in front. Hanging on with one arm, he leaned dangerously forward. With his one free arm, just at the right moment, he roughly swept the little girl aside so that she sprawled on her tummy beside the tracks. She was safe, but very upset!
It was another 200 feet before the train finally came to a stop and brave John Kohl could get off the train and run back to comfort the little girl, who was sitting up by now crying pitifully.
Suppose someone who had seen the whole thing were to come along and scold John, bawling him out for swatting little Jeanne so roughly. You would certainly tell such a person to stop talking nonsense. You would say, “Why, didn’t you see how the rough swat saved her life?”
We who speak to children about God are sometimes told much the same thing. People will say, “Don’t frighten or upset children by telling them what the Bible says about sin and judgment to come.”
God’s book has told us about future events again and again, and when we read that there is punishment ahead for sinners (children and adults still in their sins), we had better tell the whole truth so that even children may “flee from the wrath [punishment] to come.” Matthew 3:77But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7). We know that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)), and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)), as well as, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). These truths are something like the rough slap Jeanne received. We need to know them in order to run to safety. Run where? And to whom? Why, to the arms of Jesus! John Kohl was told, “You can measure the distance between life and death by the length of your arm.” In the same way we can measure that distance between eternal life and eternal death by Jesus’ mighty arm to save. Won’t you come to Him, confessing that you are helpless to save yourself? That verse, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)), can then apply to you, and you can know the forgiveness and comfort of His arms of strength. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6).
ML-07/20/1986