The Great Bridge

Listen! The LORD's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It's your sins that have cut you off from God….

The Redeemer will come to Zion to buy back those…who have turned from their sins (Isaiah 59:1-2, 20).

I grew up in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  Manitowoc is a small city along the shore of Lake Michigan.  A river goes right through the middle of town, separating the north side from the south side.  There were only four bridges that crossed that river—two that were downtown near the harbor, one at the edge of the industrial district, and one out near the residential area where we lived. 

The river was important because it was perfect for a dockyard.  Ships were built and launched from the Manitowoc harbor.  The city was also a hub for commerce—every day, trains would bring large amounts of heavy cargo to be loaded on ships bound for distant ports.  Because of all this river traffic, the two downtown bridges were the kind that opened up so that ships could pass through.  This meant that whenever a large vessel arrived or departed, traffic through the heart of the city pretty much came to a stop.

The bridge near our home was very different.  It was only a single lane wide, and had a complicated web of old steel girders holding it up.  It was at the bottom of a switchback road; you had to go down the wooded hill slowly, because you could not see if someone might be coming across the bridge just around the next curve.

Between our residential bridge and the harbor bridges downtown was the fourth and final bridge.  It was two lanes wide and was supported from beneath by concrete and steel.  This was the one bridge you could always count on—it didn’t stop traffic to let a cargo ship through, nor did you have to wait for oncoming cars to finish crossing.  This was the bridge we used most often to get across the river.

I grew up with a real appreciation for bridges.  I was fascinated by the beauty of their many designs.  I marveled at how something as large and heavy as the bridges downtown could tilt up into the air.  And I saw what a mess life became when the bridge you needed was unavailable for use.

Trying to cross a river without a using a bridge is dangerous.  You can get stuck.  The current can sweep you away and smash you into rocks or drown you.  And many rivers are full of bacteria and toxic waste—immersion in such waters can make you very sick. 

There is one river that is impossible to cross without a bridge.  The gulf is too wide, the banks are too steep, and the water is deadly.  We all face that river eventually.  The Greeks called it the River Styx.  We call it the River of Death.

Like my hometown, the universe is split in two by the River of Death.  We live on the south side, while God’s home is on the north side.  Eventually, each of us must try to cross the river.  Some have to cross because they are too old to live anymore.  Others find themselves at the riverbank because some injury or sickness damaged their bodies beyond repair.  Some are glad to gather at the river; others are sad or confused or just plain frightened.  But regardless of what brings them, everyone has to cross the River of Death.

We can’t stay here in the land of the living.  God won’t allow it.  Death is God’s curse on those who ignore Him and break His laws.  Everyone is under this curse.  Jesus said, No one is good—except God alone (Mark 10:18).  We waste time dreaming about things we don’t have.  We twist the truth to make ourselves look good and others look bad.  We trick people into giving us what we want.  We break promises when they become inconvenient.  We hold bigoted opinions about people who are different from us.  We make fun of others instead of showing them respect.  We don’t make time for God in our daily routines.  We don’t thank Him for His blessings, and we waste the money that He gives us.  Most of the time, we barely spare Him a second thought.  God has every right to be angry with us; it is a testament to His great love that we are permitted to live as long as we do.

But the curse on sin does result in death.  And in a way, it’s just as well.  It’s hard to fight the temptation to do wrong.  How would you like having to fight temptation forever?  As the years go by, you accumulate regrets over the dumb things you’ve done.  If you never died, how burdened would you feel after 200 years of life?  A hundred?  A thousand? 

Make no mistake—the River of Death is a terrible thing to face.  It steals our breath away, knocks us from our feet, and sweeps us off into hell where we will face horrors unimaginable.  But sin makes death necessary; sin drives us to the riverbank and forces us to jump in.  The River of Death cannot be avoided.

If only there were a bridge that could take us safely across.  Thankfully, there is.  Jesus Christ is our bridge from the land of sin to the home of God.  Jesus can build anything.  He made the universe by His Father’s command.  John writes, Through him all things were made; without him nothing would exist (John 1:3).  The Son of God has the supreme power to make anything out of nothing. 

We needed that kind of power.  From God’s perspective, sin made us nothing, worthless.  But God’s Son can make wonderful things from nothing.  He can build a bridge between sinful man and holy God.  He can build a royal highway by which God’s love comes to us. 

God is perfect; He will not accept us as we are, and we don’t have it in us to live up to His lofty standards.  So Jesus bridged the impossible gap.  In Him, God and man were combined.  He became the Son of Man so He could live the perfect life God expects from each of us.  He became the Son of Man so He could die the death we deserved for being sinners.  But He is remained the Son of God, infinite in power, love, and grace.  Because He is the Son of God, His perfect life stands in for when we fail to behave as we should. Because He is the Son of God, His hellish death on the cross is counted as the death we deserved.  In Jesus, God’s expectations for humanity are perfectly fulfilled.

God gave us Jesus as the bridge by which we might enter heaven.  Jesus is the bridge that takes us away from sin and into God’s wonderful home.  He built the bridge by assuming responsibility for our sins and dying for them in our place.  His bridge is stained with the red of His blood, blood that washes away every bit of our guilt.  He allows us to cross when we come to Him with heavy hearts, seeking His forgiveness.  His bridge is open to all who want a new start at life, living according to God’s priorities. 

Like my hometown, there are many bridges along the riverbank; however, only one bridge gets you all the way across.  There is no other way to reach God’s side than by the bridge Jesus made by His own sweat and blood.  Paul writes, there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men (1 Timothy 2:5-6).  There are many religions that promise happiness on the other side of death but when life finally dumps you at the riverbank, you realize that the bridge is up and cannot help you reach the other side. 

Many people try to build their own bridges, by pasting together a bunch of ideas that they’ve heard and liked.  The trouble is that sin clouds our thinking, weakens our efforts, and undermines our accomplishments.  The result is always a bridge to nowhere.  No one can produce the perfect life needed to reach out and touch God—our only hope for success is by crossing on the way that Jesus has built for us.  Our Lord said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

The most magnificent bridge I’ve ever crossed is the Mackinac Bridge that connects Upper and Lower Michigan.  The bridge is five miles long, suspended by steel cables from two huge towers.  The deck is metal grating, not pavement, so that the wind can blow through and not destabilize the bridge.  You can see the water beneath you as you travel across.

The Mackinac Bridge is solidly built and has served well for decades—yet there are some people who are afraid to cross it.  The Bridge Authority has men and women on payroll to drive terrified motorists to the other side.  The bridge is a testament to modern engineering, yet some cannot face the prospect of a long drive high over the water.

So it is with us.  We know that Jesus can be trusted.  He has carried countless friends and relatives across the River of Death, and they are safe on heaven’s shore.  But we still fear death.  Deep down inside, we are concerned about what will happen to us when we die.  Thankfully, God understands our fears.  In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus says that when we die, angels come to carry us home.  Just like the drivers who work at Mackinac Bridge, the angels of God soothe our fears as we cross the most important bridge of all. 

Jesus is your bridge to paradise.  When the time comes, may you have a safe and happy crossing.