THE BRIDGE KEEPER

THE BRIDGE KEEPER

There once was a remote bridge spanning a wide river.  During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river parallel to the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge.  But at certain times every day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing the train to cross safely.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river, diligently operating the controls to turn the bridge and lock it in place whenever a train needed to cross.  One evening, as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day, he peered through the dim twilight and caught sight of the approaching train lights.  He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within the prescribed distance in order to turn the bridge.  To his horror, as he turned the bridge into position, he discovered that the electronic locking control would not work.  If the bridge was not securely positioned, it would wobble back and forth, causing the train to jump its track and go crashing into the river. 

The switchman pictured the large number of people that would be aboard the speeding passenger train.  So he hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a manual lever switch he could use to lock the bridge in place.  It would be necessary for the switchman to hold the lever firmly while the train crossed.  Now he could hear the rumble of the train, so he took hold of the lever, leaning backwards to fully apply his weight to it and lock the bridge.  He kept applying pressure to keep the mechanism lock in place.  Many lives depended on this one man’s strength.

Just then, coming toward him across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.  “Daddy, where are you?”  His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for his father.  His first impulse was to cry out to his child, “Run!  Run!”  But the train was much too close and his son’s tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time.  The switchman almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety.  But he realized he could not get back to the lever in time.  Either the people on the train would die, or his beloved son must die.  He agonized for seconds – that seemed like minutes – over such an awesome decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was ever aware of the tiny broken body that had been thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train.  Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing switchman, clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had safely passed.  They did not see him walking home, more slowly than he had ever walked, to tell his wife how their son’s brutal and tragic death.

If you can even begin to comprehend the overwhelming emotions in the switchman’s heart, you will gain a tiny inkling of understanding of the feelings of our HEAVENLY FATHER when He sacrificed HIS SON to literally BRIDGE THE GAP between each of us and eternal life.  Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died in our place?  And here is the ultimate question for us to ponder: How would THE FATHER feel if we speed along through life without giving a second thought to what was accomplished so sacrificially for us through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ?

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and (above all) make sure you are ready to meet our soon coming King.  Maranatha!