THE BRIDGE KEEPER

THE BRIDGE KEEPER

I posted the following story before, however it is so powerful that it bears repetition.  Enjoy and be blessed by the knowledge that God’s grace and mercy is always so powerful and prevalent in our lives.

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

A switchman always sat in the small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place so trains could cross safely.  One evening while the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to cross, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights.  He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within the prescribed distance when he would turn the bridge.  As he turned the bridge into position, to his horror he found that the locking mechanism did not work.  If the bridge was not secured in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train crossed over it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river.  These passenger train always had many people aboard.  

He left his customary position and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could use to operate the lock manually.  He would need to hold the lever back firmly in place while the train crossed.  As he heard the rumble of the train, he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his body weight against it, securely locking the bridge.  He kept applying all the pressure he could muster to keep the mechanism locked.  So many lives depended on this one man’s strength.

Just then, coming 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 him.  His first impulse was to cry out to the child, “Run! Run!”  But the train was much too close and his tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety.  But he realized that he could not get back to the lever in time.  Either all the people on the train or his little son must die.  In one agonizing moment, he made his decision.

As the train sped safely and swiftly on its way, no one onboard was 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 a sobbing switchman, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed.  They did not see him walking home, more slowly than he had ever walked, to tell his wife how their son had died so tragically.

If you can somehow wrap your head around the powerful emotions that overwhelmed that man’s heart, you will begin to understand the feelings of OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN when He sacrificed HIS SON to bridge the gap between 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 on Calvary?  And how does He feel when we speed along through life without giving serious thought to what He has done for us through JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON?

JESUS CHRIST is THE LAMB OF GOD (John 1:29) and THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

John 10:11-16 (New King James Version)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  ¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  ¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

HE is both the Bridge Keeper and The Son, and how great is His everlasting love manifested so freely and fully toward us.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!