The Bridge Keeper

类似的故事看过不少，可是仍然没有办法不揪心。眼睁睁地看着四岁的儿子消失在眼前，对于一个父亲来说，最痛苦的事莫过于此。可是谁能给他不牺牲的理由？

短小精悍，也很容易懂。

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of theday the bridge sat with its length running up and down the riverparalleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass thru freely on bothsides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would comealong 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 heoperated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as thetrain crossed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the lasttrain of the day to come, he looked off into the distance thru thedimming twilight and caught sight of the trainlights. He stepped to thecontrol and waited until the train was within a prescribed distancewhen 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 thebridge was not securely in position it would wobble back and forth atthe ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump thetrack and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger trainwith many people aboard. He left the bridge turned across the river,and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river wherethere was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. Hewould have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He couldhear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever andleaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He keptapplying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives dependedon 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. Hisfirst impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the trainwas too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge intime. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son andcarry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to thelever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. Hetook a moment to make his decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard waseven aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river bythe onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of thesobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after thetrain had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than hehad 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 canbegin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when Hesacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Canthere be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skiesto darken when His Son died? How does He feel when we speed along thrulife without giving a thought to what was done for us thru Jesus Christ?