A Bridge too far? No, a bridge from one side!
CROSS PURPOSES #80
23 March 2007
A Bridge too far? No, a bridge from one side!
There’s been lots of talk about ‘bridges’ around Sydney these last few weeks. Well, really about one bridge – the Sydney Harbour Bridge – which was officially opened 75 years ago, on March 19, 1932. Sydneysiders have ‘The Bridge’ in the psyches. It has become something in ’the spirit of the place’ that marks this city.
I reckon we’d be hard put to find an Australian who wouldn’t instantly recognize it, alongside the Sydney Opera House. After all, we put it on display for the Sydney Olympics, and every Australia Day celebration too. Most surveys conclude that it is one of the most instantly recognised structures in the world.
(However I did once have an occasion when I took a visiting South African clergyman – black, and from the townships – to see some of the sights. From South Head we looked back along the Harbour to the Bridge and Opera House and he had no idea what it was. He’d never ever seen it before and it meant nothing to him. He wasn’t at all impressed with any of the lovely homes I was showing him either!)
All the photos of the Harbour Bridge while it was under construction show the development of the arch coming equally from both sides, like giant fingers reaching out, that must meet each other perfectly at the peak in the middle. And of course they did, I think to within half a centimeter.
It’s all had me thinking about that ‘other’ bridge which was needed to span the apparently unbridgeable gap between the Holy God and the children of Adam and Eve. Those of you who are still biblically literate might remember such phrases as:
“…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3: 23)
“Your sins have made a separation between you and your God”.
“…you were separate for Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world”. (Eph 2: 12)
“… you were dead…” (Eph 2: 1) – and dead people build no bridges!
What is really telling is that Eph 2: 6 talks about us sitting with Christ at the Fathers right hand in heaven! On the ‘God-side’ of the divide! How did we / do we get there? Because God, in his mercy, built a bridge to us which enabled us to come to him. It begins with that first Christmas where God comes to live among us, (Immanuel = God with us). It continues to Good Friday, where that person called Jesus Christ enters into death, into that separation, in our place, having absorbed into himself all human sin and evil as he went! That lays the foundation for the ‘bridge way’ back to the Holy God. The Easter Sunday risen Jesus Christ draws us with him, forgiven, into the Father’s presence! This bridge is built on the blood, sweat and tears, and death, of the eternal Son of the eternal Father.
It’s our bridge to life. And we are set free to walk on that bridge as we acknowledge and confess two things:
That who and what I am, as far as holiness is concerned, doesn’t cut it with God – and never will.
That who and what Jesus Christ is does cut it with God. Indeed it’s the only thing / he’s the only One who does cut it with God – and he alone is Saviour and Lord.
Acknowledge and confess that and, well, the bridge is yours!
Happy Good Friday and Easter celebrations
Pastor Fred
23 March 2007
A Bridge too far? No, a bridge from one side!
There’s been lots of talk about ‘bridges’ around Sydney these last few weeks. Well, really about one bridge – the Sydney Harbour Bridge – which was officially opened 75 years ago, on March 19, 1932. Sydneysiders have ‘The Bridge’ in the psyches. It has become something in ’the spirit of the place’ that marks this city.
I reckon we’d be hard put to find an Australian who wouldn’t instantly recognize it, alongside the Sydney Opera House. After all, we put it on display for the Sydney Olympics, and every Australia Day celebration too. Most surveys conclude that it is one of the most instantly recognised structures in the world.
(However I did once have an occasion when I took a visiting South African clergyman – black, and from the townships – to see some of the sights. From South Head we looked back along the Harbour to the Bridge and Opera House and he had no idea what it was. He’d never ever seen it before and it meant nothing to him. He wasn’t at all impressed with any of the lovely homes I was showing him either!)
All the photos of the Harbour Bridge while it was under construction show the development of the arch coming equally from both sides, like giant fingers reaching out, that must meet each other perfectly at the peak in the middle. And of course they did, I think to within half a centimeter.
It’s all had me thinking about that ‘other’ bridge which was needed to span the apparently unbridgeable gap between the Holy God and the children of Adam and Eve. Those of you who are still biblically literate might remember such phrases as:
“…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3: 23)
“Your sins have made a separation between you and your God”.
“…you were separate for Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world”. (Eph 2: 12)
“… you were dead…” (Eph 2: 1) – and dead people build no bridges!
What is really telling is that Eph 2: 6 talks about us sitting with Christ at the Fathers right hand in heaven! On the ‘God-side’ of the divide! How did we / do we get there? Because God, in his mercy, built a bridge to us which enabled us to come to him. It begins with that first Christmas where God comes to live among us, (Immanuel = God with us). It continues to Good Friday, where that person called Jesus Christ enters into death, into that separation, in our place, having absorbed into himself all human sin and evil as he went! That lays the foundation for the ‘bridge way’ back to the Holy God. The Easter Sunday risen Jesus Christ draws us with him, forgiven, into the Father’s presence! This bridge is built on the blood, sweat and tears, and death, of the eternal Son of the eternal Father.
It’s our bridge to life. And we are set free to walk on that bridge as we acknowledge and confess two things:
That who and what I am, as far as holiness is concerned, doesn’t cut it with God – and never will.
That who and what Jesus Christ is does cut it with God. Indeed it’s the only thing / he’s the only One who does cut it with God – and he alone is Saviour and Lord.
Acknowledge and confess that and, well, the bridge is yours!
Happy Good Friday and Easter celebrations
Pastor Fred
posted by PastorFredVeerhuis at 8:00 PM
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