21-Day Consecration Holy Season 2025

Day 15 Wednesday 3/19 - Worthwhile Investment

Scriptural Reflection
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? - St. Luke 15:4

Devotional Thought
Back in the Great Depression, a Missouri man named John Griffith, the controller of a massive railroad drawbridge spanning the Mississippi River, decided to take his eight-year-old son, Greg, to work one sunny afternoon in 1937. As they sat on the observation deck for lunch at noon, time seemed to fly by. Suddenly, John was jolted by the piercing shriek of a train whistle echoing in the distance. He glanced at his watch and gasped in shock—it was 1:07 PM. The Memphis Express, carrying four hundred passengers, was barreling straight towards the raised bridge! Without hesitation, John leaped from the observation deck and sprinted back to the control tower. Just as he was about to throw the master lever, he caught a glimpse below and his heart sank. Greg had slipped from the deck and plummeted into the colossal gears that operated the bridge. His left leg was caught in the intricate cogs of the two main gears!

Desperation clawed at John’s mind as he frantically brainstormed a rescue plan. However, with each passing moment, he realized the odds were stacked against them. The train whistle pierced the air once more, accompanied by the ominous clicking of the locomotive wheels on the tracks. There, in the depths below, he could hear the faint sound of his son’s cries. Yet, there were four hundred passengers on the train, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding. John knew he had to act swiftly. With a deep breath, he buried his face in his left arm and pressed the master switch forward. The massive bridge began to lower into place as the Memphis Express roared across the river. When John finally lifted his head, tears streaming down his face, he peered into the passing windows of the train.

Inside, he saw businessmen engrossed in their afternoon newspapers, elegantly dressed ladies sipping coffee in the dining car, and children happily pushing long spoons into their ice cream. Not a single person looked towards the control house or the colossal gear box. With unbearable agony, John’s voice trembled as he cried out to the steel train, “I sacrificed my son for you people! Don’t you care?” But his words were drowned out by the rushing train, and no one heard the anguished plea of the father. The train rushed by, but nobody heard the father's words, which recalled Lamentations 1:12: "Is it nothing to you, all who pass by?"(Condensed and adapted from "Is It Nothing to You?" by Dr. D. James Kennedy, March 19, 1978, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.)

Prayer
Lord, help us to not be so focused on us that we miss our assignment. Teach us the value of sacrifice that we fully appreciate what You did that we might LIVE. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.