The One True Bridge

This past Wednesday tragedy struck America when a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed causing cars to plummet some sixty feet straight down. The death toll the last I checked was six people. I’m sure it will rise. Over 110 people were hurt. It was a horrific accident.

For me, this tragedy is a metaphor for a much greater tragedy. People trusted this bridge to carry them safely to and from their destinations. The bridge failed miserably in its task, for whatever turns out to be the reason. Bridges are supposed to be solid structures we can trust as we journey through life. This tragedy seems like such a betrayal.

I think of all the bridges that people trust in their lives, spiritually. Many people trust many different “bridges” to provide safe travel from this life into the next, when that time comes as it will for all. Some trust their good works as a bridge to heaven hereafter. Some trust this religion or that religion to carry them over into an eternal bliss. Even more tragic some are on a “bridge to nowhere” and expect nothing at all on the other side of this bridge of life. All these bridges provide a false sense of security. On that day there will be great tragedy and eternal heart ache as these unstable bridges collapse one by one causing wayward souls to plummet into eternity without Jesus.

The Bible says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-the testimony given in its proper time” (1Timothy 2:5-6). That is, Jesus alone is the One True Bridge that can be counted on to safely carry us over into God’s presence at that appointed time. Unlike the bridges man makes, both physical and spiritual, Jesus will never fail. My heart’s desire is that all those who lost their lives in this human tragedy were trusting in the spiritual bridge of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. This is what gives one hope. May we all place our trust in Jesus, the One True Bridge.