The Bus

We were trying to catch this bus. 

We knew it would be the most important thing we would ever do. 

We could see the bus as it traveled around, stopping at different locations to pick people up.

Each time we saw it stop, we would run to the bus stop in a desperate attempt to catch the bus. 

But each time, when we reached the bus stop, the bus had already pulled away, and we missed it.

This happened several times.

We realized what we were doing wasn’t working, so we changed our strategy. We stopped, and we watched. And we studied. 

And as we studied the bus, we saw that the bus was following a very specific pattern. We could map out the bus stops and know where the bus would be heading next. 

So this time, when we saw the bus pull into a stop, instead of running to where the bus was currently, we ran to the next stop it would go to, according to its pattern. 

And this time, when we ran to the stop, we arrived right as the bus was pulling in, and we were able to get on the bus. 

We climbed up into the bus, and we saw that it’s practically empty. There are just a few people here and there. This surprised us, because we knew that it was so important for us to get on the bus. 

But there was a man sitting in the back of the bus. 

We went up to him and asked him, “Why are there not more people on the bus? Why is it so hard?”

And he said, “Anyone can get on the bus. But you have to really want it.”

This story about the bus was shared with me a few years ago, after I had experienced a low point in my spiritual journey and was half-heartedly trying to come out of it. I realized then that the only thing that could keep me out of heaven was me, if I didn’t care to be there. In “Christ’s Object Lessons”, Ellen White says, “Success is not the result of chance or of destiny; it is the outworking of God’s own providence, the reward of faith and discretion, of virtue, and of persevering effort.” God wants me on the bus! He wants everyone on the bus! He has provided a way for us to get on the bus! But you don’t randomly end up on the bus. We are the ones who ultimately make the decision and put in the effort to catch the bus. No one will be on the bus by accident. 

Now, this doesn’t mean you are saved by the effort or work you put in or any nonsense like that. You can chase the bus forever and never catch it, and never really understand the pattern that it is following. However, it does mean you must make the persevering effort to respond to the invitation to get on the bus, and then follow the bus’s movements in order to affirmatively reply to the invitation.

Jesus tells us, the church of Laodicea, that we have to really want to be on the bus. It may seem hard or confusing, because we think we may be close enough to the bus, since many of us have grown up always hearing about spiritual things, we attend chapels and church, and we know what year the Reformation started. But He tells us it’s not enough to see the bus, we must be on it. We have to make the effort to buy from Him gold, white robes and eye salve. We have to really want it, to be made like Christ, to have His righteousness cover us, and to see our true condition. And to those who do, the promise is given, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:20-21). 

But we have to make the effort to get up and open the door when He knocks. We must decide if we really want it.