Temptation

 January 8, 2023

I don’t know why I can’t leave well enough alone. I’m in our back room looking at the train layout that circles the room at about eight feet, and thinking that with a change in the brackets I made to fasten it to the wall, I could fit a secondary line beneath it just big enough for an HO set. I have most of the equipment; a couple years ago I picked up a couple boxes of assorted train stuff—four or five engines, a couple dozen cars, eight transformers, and lots of track. All that stuff is calling my name, and Linda isn’t discouraging me from my crazy ideas.

The fun for me is in the creation even more than operation. After all, you can only watch a train going in circles just so many times before it gets old, and I have neither the space nor the interest in building a layout with villages, staging areas, and mountains with trestles and tunnels. I appreciate those who have the time, interest, and money to create elaborate layouts, but I’m not one of them. It’s probably good that I don’t have the space. 

All of that makes me think about temptation. Any time I get to feeling a bit self-righteous, God reminds me that there have been plenty of times the only reason I didn’t yield to temptation was that I didn’t have the opportunity. Had the opportunity presented itself to me, I would likely have presented myself to the sin. It’s all about grace. I am keenly aware of the times God stepped in and stopped me from doing something foolish. Although I know it’s happened, I’m less aware of the times God steered me in a different direction away from the temptation without my knowing it. Whenever I have failed, it’s because I deliberately turned away from the provision God offered; whenever I succeeded, it’s because God smacked me alongside the head, got my attention, and intervened. To him alone belongs all the praise and glory!