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 paralleled 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 a train to cross it. A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of
the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into
place as the train crossed.
One evening as the switchman was
waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance
through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights. He stepped
to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when
he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his
horror, he found the locking control did not work.
If the bridge was not securely in
position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto
it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This
would be a passenger train with many people aboard.
He left the bridge, turned across the
river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there
was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually.
He would have to hold the lever back
firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he
took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking
the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many
lives depended on this man’s strength.
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 too close; the 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.
Either the people on the train or his
little son must die. He took a moment to make his decision.
The train sped safely and swiftly on
its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown
mercilessly into the river by the on rushing train. Nor were they aware of the
pitiful figure of the sobbing man, 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 brutally
died.
Now if you comprehend the emotions
which went this man’s heart, you can 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? How does He
feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done
for us through Jesus Christ?
When was the last time we thanked Him
for the sacrifice of His Son?
Please comment your thoughts about this
little story. Share with your friends and family members.