The Bridge Keeper

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 onrushing 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 thru Jesus Christ?

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The Great Commission

Jesus gave it all on the cross. Then He ordained us to be His hands, His feet, His mouth, and His heart to reach a lost world for Him! Will we hear and follow His call, or will we remain quiet and silently watch a world of lost souls slip into hell without a care?

Here below is the very first command of Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead. This is not an optional extra for Christians, this is our calling, it is a command, and it was not JUST to the disciples. It is Christ’s message and command to His church.

Mark 16:15-20 (NKJV)

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature".

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Note: Speaking with new tongues as occurred at Penticost and as described in Acts, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave utterance through them, (prayed through them). Without the Holy Spirit residing within us as occurs when we are baptised in His Holy Spirit, we are like a car without fuel. “We have no motive power”.

18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Someone once wrote; "If you are not a soul winner, you are a soul to win."

This is so true, because as Christians we are COMMANDED by Christ to bear fruit, or be cut from the vine and burned as dead useless branches. We are to bear many kinds of fruit in our lives, but lost souls won for Christ and God’s Kingdom, are the single greatest and most precious fruit we can bear.

We can bear fruit and win souls for Christ by the way we live, the way we conduct ourselves, the way we speak to others, in our attitudes, the way we give to others, by our selflessness, the way we care for others, and the way we love ALL others, regardless of how unlovely or unlovable they may be, or we may be.

Are we in fact lovable? Do our lives bear witness to Christ’s Agape love? Are we a true reflection of Christ within us? If not, we should be, we can be, and we do this as we spend time in God’s word and at His throne of grace.

I cannot overstate the value of spending time in God’s word, “EVERY DAY”. Every day washing in it, immersing ourselves in it, eating it up, taking notes, memorising verses, and learning to treasure it and store it in our hearts until others can see Christ shining out from within us. Then, we will really begin to impact a lost world for Him, but we should not wait until we are perfect. We need to start today in our flawed state, because I have yet to meet a completely perfect person, and I don’t think I will until I reach heaven one day when I leave this body of death behind.

We can be a soul winner at home, at work, on the bus, on an aircraft, in the street, on the mission fields, anywhere and everywhere. We should always be looking for every opportunity to share the good news of Christ, and listening for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to guide us to someone, whose heart is open to receive His word.

Don’t waste opportunities to share the gospel, and don’t live with regret for not doing so. We all live with such regrets, including myself, for friends eternally lost with whom we could have shared the gospel, but did not take the opportunity to do so. Maybe because of fear, or maybe we thought there would be more time, and sometimes because our lives were, or currently are, not really a true picture of a genuine God fearing Christian, and so; we keep our mouths clamped shut from shame so as not to be a hypocrite, because our lives may be; or may have been a lie at some past time.

For myself, I cannot do anything about past opportunities lost, but I can and do resolve not to miss future opportunities, which have eternal consequences for people whose lives I can touch for Christ.

If God would give us a glimpse into the glory of heaven, and into the terror of hell, we would never be the same again, and we would work tirelessly for the cause of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

As one means of delivering the gospel to the lost, you may chose to use what I believe to be the greatest gospel tract ever produced to witness for Christ.

Check out “THE REASON WHY”: By Robert Laidlaw.

See it here: The Reason Why:

It is a very powerful tract, with more than 36 million copies printed, and in 30 plus languages. It is logical, compelling, and it has brought countless souls to Christ. Like the bible, its message is timeless, and cannot be improved on.

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