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.
His mind raced as 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 locked 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 – which 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 about their
son’s brutal and tragic death.
If we could somehow begin
to comprehend the overwhelming emotions in the switchman’s heart, we would gain
a tiny inkling of understanding of the feelings of our HEAVENLY FATHER when He
sacrificed HIS SON (and how THE SON felt when He sacrificed HIS LIFE) to
literally BRIDGE THE GAP between each one of us and eternal life. Can there be
any wonder that The Father 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?
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