[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/Aug/2017]
A few weeks ago, Neil Robinson spoke about tearing up the rule book, and one of his comments reminded me about an illustration that Nicky Gumbel used in one of his daily on-line meditations. He described a Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon that pictures Thomas on his side, having fallen off the train tracks. He is shouting, ‘I’m free! I’m free at last. I’ve escaped from the rails and I’m free!’ However, as we all know, a train that has gone off the rails has a somewhat limited future.
Near to my house is a footpath that I used on a daily basis to access Gatwick station. The footpath is narrow and winding; you cannot see one end from the other, and for a time it was unlit. It passes under the M23 Spur, between an access road to a staff car park and the London to Brighton railway which at that point is four tracks wide. Both the car park and railway have security fences – for the car park user the only way out is the way they came in, whilst Thomas’s successors are constrained by the rigours of rails, signals and timetables.
By contrast, the only fences that the footpath has are those inherited from the adjacent land uses. It is open at both ends; at the northern end the user may choose to go towards the west, north or east whilst to the south the footpath continues towards Crawley, passing through a surprisingly idyllic area with a babbling brook and frolicking fish just yards from the end of the runway.
At 5:45 on a winter morning, setting out on that path felt depressing, confined by fences not of my making, but as I approached the overpass I could recognise that only my narrow path offered liberty. I could join those commuters in their temporary warmth, or keep on walking. Remember the words of Jesus – “ small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” and “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”; (Matthew ch7 v13-14, Luke ch13 v24) – and be encouraged.
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys