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There was once a big turntable bridge which spanned a large
river. During most of the day, the bridge sat with the length
running up and down the river parallel with the banks
allowing ships to pass freely on both sides of the bridge.
But, at certain times of the day, a certain train would come
along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the
river allowing the train to cross. 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 when the train
crossed.
One evening when 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's light.
He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was at
a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He
turned the bridge into position, but to his horror, he found
that the locking control didn't work. If the bridge was not
locked securely into position, it would wobble back and forth
and the ends when the train came to 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 shack
with the bridge turned across the river and hurried to the
other side of the river where there was a lever which he
could use to operate the lock manually. He could hear the
rumble of the train now and leaned back-ward to apply his
weight to it, locking the bridge. Many lives depended upon
this man's strength.
Then, coming across the bridge from the other direction, 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 instinct was to cry out to
the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close.
The tiny feet would never make it across the bridge in time.
The man almost left the 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 or
his son must die. He took just a moment to make his decision.
The train sped swiftly and safely on its way and no one on
board was even aware of the tiny, broken body thrown
mercilessly into the river by the rushing train. Nor were
they aware of the pitiful figure of a sobbing man still
clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train
had passed.
They didn't see him walking home more slowly than he had ever
walked to tell his wife how he had sacrificed their son.
Now, if you can comprehend the emotions which went through
this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of
our Heavenly Father 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? And how does it feel when we speed
along life without giving a thought to what was done for us
through Jesus Christ? When was the last time you thanked Him
for the sacrifice of His Son.
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