Gordon the Express Engine

My son loves Thomas the Tank Engine. He spends his time turning my little apartment into a jumble of train tracks. He flips over laundry baskets and stacks blocks and winds blue plastic tracks everywhere.

We were hanging out watching a video of Thomas and Friends and I was reminded of the Gospel. There is a large steam engine named Gordon that pulls the express. He thinks himself the fastest, the best, and the most important engine on the entire island of Sodor. Often times, this causes him to stumble. His pride becomes arrogance and his arrogance leads him astray.



In this episode, Gordon finds himself hauling freight cars (a task much to undignified for a majestic engine such as himself). "I'm an express engine! I don't haul dirty freight cars." Gordan exclaimed. But the train station manager, Sir Toppum Hat, saw to it that the big, blue express engine did as he was told.





Rumbling down the tracks, freight cars in tow, Gordon grumbled all the way. 'I am too good for this. I should be doing things my own way.'

When he came to a stretch marked GO SLOW, Gordon chuffed, "I am an express! I don't go slow!" and he steamed ahead faster. But when he came to a tricky patch of tracks the weight was too much for him and he went wight off the tracks. He careened down a hill, crashed through a manure pile, slammed through a pile of old tires and crashed right through a barn.

Gordon was humiliated. Sir Toppum Hat arrived and scolded him. He reminded him that he desires very usual engines. But then he called for the breakdown train to come and help clean up the mess and get Gordon back on track.

His lesson learned, Gordon returned to work humbled and more accepting of his position. He saw being an express as a gift but not as a privilege to be better than anyone else.

We are a lot like Gordon. We think that God has made us better than others. We think we are more special or set apart. Often we don't want to do dirty jobs... even when called by the Lord to do so. Look at Jonah for example. He didn't want to Nineveh. So he took off for the end of the earth instead.

When our pride turns to arrogance, we start making our own decisions instead of following God's will. Eventually our lives get out of control and we go off track. We even crash. Sometimes that crash is quite messy indeed. But God still loves us. He is always right there to help us back on track. He reminds us that He is GOD and that we are not. But He takes us back and puts us back into service for Him.

He wants us to be very usual Christ-followers, using our gifts not to boost our own station or boast our superiority, but to bring glory to our Father.

He always gets us back on track. ALWAYS.