“I had a doctor appointment the other day,” Stan commented one morning. “Things were really backed up and I had to spend quite a bit of time in the waiting room.”
“That can be really frustrating,” I replied.
“It depends,” Stan observed.
“On what?”
“How I choose to spend the time.” Continuing, he added, “The question of a waiting room strikes me as being like the story of how you went to the train station when you first got your ticket to glory.”
“In what way?” I asked.
“As I recall,” Stan replied, “when you got your ticket by accepting God’s free and gracious gift, the station master told you to go elsewhere while you are waiting for the train. He didn’t tell you to go to the station’s waiting room.”
“You’re right,” I said. “He told me that would be a waste of my life to just wait at the station. He told me there are a lot of people who don’t even know there’s a train to glory, as well as a lot of ticket holders who don’t know what their ticket means.”
“That they are supposed to leave and go to the big waiting room,” Stan responded.
“The big waiting room? What big waiting room?”
“Jesus is recorded as talking about that at the end of Matthew’s gospel where He said to go and make disciples of all the nations.”
“So,” I said, “its kind of like the whole world is the waiting room. That’s where we are supposed to go while we are waiting for the train. Go and tell them about the train and what the ticket for the train means.”
“That’s right,” Stan replied, “but I think it’s more than ‘kind of like.’ I think it’s exactly what we are to do. But remember that Jesus said to go and make disciples. He didn’t say go and make converts. Making converts is a given because people can’t be disciples until they have become believers, but Jesus emphasized the part about making disciples.”
“In the whole big waiting room,” I responded.
“That’s right,” Stan said. “We are all in that waiting room, and we have a choice of what we are going to do while we wait.”
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Bible verses to consider:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20.
Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without the preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:13-15.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your provision of life eternally with you through your free and gracious gift of salvation and redemption. Thank you, too, for the eternal life of being allowed to know you and Jesus. Thank you for all of your provision through His life, death, and resurrection. Thank you for those who brought me to the truth. I confess that too often I do not make the effort to tell others about what you have for them on both sides of eternity. Please help me to follow every step of your lead to go into the “waiting room” of the whole world to tell others about you and what you have for them. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: The earth is not our permanent home. We are all just passing through to our eternal destination. Do you have the assurance of spending eternity in God’s presence? If no, why? It’s a free and gracious gift that only has to be accepted. If you do have the assurance of salvation, how are you doing in telling others while you are in the “waiting room”? As well as you would like? As well as God would like? If you sense changes are needed, how is that going to happen?
Waiting for the Train 