Thursday, September 6, 2007

Fast trains

My son loves trains. I can honestly say that he is obsessed with them. I have a video of him when he was just barely two years old standing about thirty feet from a train traveling approximately 60 mph. As the camera pans back and forth between the train and his face, you can see that he is struck with a mixture of fear and awe. He just stands there frozen, eyes open wide, as he watches the biggest and fastest train he has ever seen. As soon as the train has passed, you can hear his little voice say, "Another train?" Even though he was clearly stunned and afraid of the train, the thrill of seeing it made him want to see another one.
I can't help but think of that as a perfect illustration of a healthy fear of God. We're awestruck by His greatness, and we fear Him out of sheer respect, and when we experience Him, no matter how powerful, we want more. The power and speed of the train was overwhelming, like the holy presence of God.

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