"Bridges"

“Bridges”

In May 2017 Karen and I took a tour through Italy. (See the previous article, “An Unleaning Faith”.) It’s a delightful country abounding in history and both natural and man-made beauty. Our favorite place was Venice with its canals, 118 islands and more than 400 bridges. We were fascinated by its uniqueness and character. Our hotel room overlooked the Grand Canal which was an added bonus.

As I was thinking about our trip the bridges came to mind and I became curious. So I did some research (Thanks, Google) and discovered some interesting facts:

*The longest bridge on the planet (a high speed railroad one) is the Danyang Kunshan in China at 102.4 miles.

*The longest road span is the 34 mile Bang Na Expressway in Thailand (in the U.S. it’s the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, a mere 23.8 miles).

*The world’s longest suspension bridge (6529 feet) Akashi Kaikyo in Kobe, Japan (in the U.S. it’s the Verrazano-Narrows in New York City at 4260 feet, 60 feet more than the Golden Gate).

*The shortest international bridge is 32 feet connecting two islands in the St. Lawrence River between the U.S. and Canada.

*The highest bridge on earth is the Duge in China, 1854 feet above the Beipan River (in the U.S. it’s the Royal Gorge over the Arkansas River in Colorado at 955 feet).

*According to the Associated Press there are 607,380 in the U.S. (Texas leads with 48,000+).

*There are more than 2000 in New York City—four connect it with New Jersey and 17 link the five boroughs (a radio traffic reporter was once reprimanded for referring to “George Washington’s Bridgework”)

From this trivia we see that bridges fulfill their objective of connecting two or more points over some obstacle. (Much press was given to the so-called “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska in 2005.) But it’s been reported that many of our nation’s bridges are considered unsafe (remember the collapsing of those on the New York Thruway in 1987 and I-35 in Minneapolis in 2007). So crossing some puts us at risk.

In 1943 Evangelist Phil Saint did a chalk drawing called “The Way of the Cross”. It showed a great chasm between Heaven and Hell with a cross as the bridge spanning it, reflecting The Apostle Paul’s words: “(Christ) made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.” (Colossians 1:20). Earlier Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). So Jesus’ death on the cross is the bridge to fellowship and eternal life with God. And it’s risk free. Have you by faith walked it?

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan