Who should you listen to?

Direct my footsteps according to your word (Psalm 119:133).

The doubleheader train was bucking a heavy snowstorm as its engines pulled it west. A woman with a baby wanted to leave the train at one of the little stations along the route. It was the brakeman’s job to announce each station when the train arrived; the young mother continually reminded him "Don't forget me!" Her husband was scheduled to meet her at the station; she didn’t want to miss him.

Eventually, the train came to a stop. A man sitting near the young mother told her, "Here's your station." Picking up her baby, she hopped from the passenger car into the blinding storm. After a brief time, the engines started pulling again. Forty-five minutes later, the train began to slow once more; the brakeman entered the passenger car and asked, "Where's the woman?" The man who had spoken with her said, "She got off at the last stop." "Then she got off to her death," the brakeman replied. "We stopped only because there was something the matter with the engine." Volunteers were quickly organized to go back and search for the woman and her child. When they found her, she was covered with ice and snow. Only the little boy survived, cuddled against her breast. She had followed the man's directions, but those directions were wrong—dead wrong.

Lots of folks are quick to offer advice on matters of the soul. They claim to know how God thinks. They present themselves as experts on ethics and morality. But how well do they really know God? How good is their advice? The man on the train offered words that led to a young mother’s untimely death because he didn’t know the facts. Only the brakeman really knew what was going on, because he was in contact with the engineer.

Paul tells us that Christ is the only intermediary between man and God. Peter says that Jesus is the only person in the world who can guarantee our salvation. The Son of God is the only one who can speak of God with authority. Only He can tell us how to reach our final destination. Not only that, He has guaranteed our safe arrival by the blood He poured out on the cross to settle the debt incurred by our sins. Jesus has paid for our ticket to ride God’s express train to heaven. So be careful who you listen to before making an important decision. Human wisdom is often faulty; it is far safer to rely on God’s words, which speak to you from His Bible.