Spiritual lessons from The Polar Express

Faith is the evidence of things unseen

People tell me that You're just a dream

But they don't know You the way that I do

You're the one I live to pursue

-dc Talk

I watched The Polar Express last night – the boy hesitated to board the train at the beginning, but eventually jumped on. The conductor was all the moreso welcoming, he did not scold him for not getting on the first time before the train started moving.  The conductor was even more forgiving when he found out the boy pulled the emergency break for Billy who also hesitated to get onto the train, so that he would be able to board. When God sees our willingness to follow His will, He will go to all lengths to welcome us with open arms, the same way the father in the biblical story of the Prodigal son welcomed his son home after a long absence.

The young African American girl sees something special in the boy and befriends him. She watches his back, and he watches hers.  They both care for Billy who is sitting in a separate car all by himself.  The girl is more compassionate and makes Billy feel loved.  The boy stands by, understanding her compassion and wishing he had more himself.  The entire time he is always seeking answers, always looking for the truth.  When he loses the girl’s ticket, it comes back to him, because he never gives up looking for it.  God is forgiving like that. And when I say God is forgiving – I understand this to mean that the higher powers which keep the world alive and perfectly balanced within the universe will always bring the universe back to equilibrium whenever possible. We only have to be willing to acknowledge this and submit to this will.  Jesus gave us ways of relating to this all-powerful divine presence through the Word. He told us how to pray.  He told us to pray like this:

Our Father, Who art in heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name;

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen.

When we do so and we have faith, everything will be okay. We must BELIEVE.  In the same way the lesson learned by the boy in The Polar Express was that he must BELIEVE, we must have faith. We must have faith that God knows us better than we know ourselves and will show us what we need to see in due time if we seek to follow His will and accept His grace along the way.  If we keep seeking the truth, the truth will come to us.  Namaste.