One summer I worked on a crossing gang for the New York Central Railroad. We would replace the ties where cars crossed the tracks. After a few years the salt from the cars would rot the ties out and they would have to be replaced. I worked with a group of about seven other guys. Some were old and had started out during the depression, when 500 other fellows would stand along the tracks, waiting for you to wear out so that they could get your job. Others were young and testing the waters of what life had to offer. I was probably the youngest, not yet 21. They knew I wanted to be a pastor and made it their job to tease me about my future profession and what I was doing to enjoy life before I would have to shape up and be good.

What surprised me was how every single last one of them took me off to the side sometime during that summer to tell their story and to pour their heart out. Joe was Hispanic and had married an African American woman. Life was difficult for both of them due to prejudice. Their son Chris was the assistant foreman and had spent time in prison. Another older guy, Earl, was ridiculed all his life because of a cleft palate. My boss was offered many promotions but had to refuse because he never learned how to read and write. Another father and son worked the machinery and talked about troubles in their marriages. A couple young African Americans were getting drunk most weekends and into other activities that will go unmentioned here. Every one of them had a story of trouble or tragedy or lack of control.

This taught me to realize that, behind our exteriors of saying that all is going well, we all bear burdens, sorrows, and sins, from which we cannot or do not want to escape. I had and continue to have my own struggles as well. In our deep and quiet moments we face truths we would rather avoid. Let us start with ourselves. We are free only in Christ, who has delivered us from our sin by dying for it. He died for all! He gave His life as a ransom for all. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. For the other guy? No, for you and for me! We need to be saved from ourselves, the world around us, and from the wrath of the Father. No other escape is possible. It astounds me when Christians say they need not worship. We all need a place where we can gather with other Christians so that the Lord can open our hearts, heal us, assure us, and guide us. The Holy Spirit warns us that we can forget the need to step off to the side of life with God, confess, be healed, and go forward.

The strength from our Savior enables us to pour that forgiving love of Christ out on others. That is our mission! We cross each other, disappoint each other, and pass by on the other side. We can also Gospel each other. Parents are called to teach their children about the judgment and mercy of God and to live by that same judgment and mercy. He died for all that we may live no longer for ourselves but for Him who died and was raised. No matter what the age, we need to carry each other's burdens, challenge each other's sins against the mercy of God, and be strengthened for life each day. Be proud that you are a child of God. Live honorably. Keep your ears and hearts open. Only in Christ are the burdens removed. We all live and work in situations where people need to open their heart to their sins and need for a Savior. Take the task He gives you gladly. Be there, on the side for others. Remember that the Lord takes all of us to the side, to confess and repent and seek new life and joy in Him.

In Christ our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Thomas Trapp