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 thru 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 through 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 can we ever speed along thru life without giving a thought to what was done for us thru Jesus Christ?

有一条跨越大河的吊桥，大部份的时间它是打开的，让河里的船通过。但每当有火车的时候，桥就会被放下，以便火车跨到对岸。

管理员坐的地方是在桥一边的小屋，他的责任是在火车未到河边之前把桥放下，并且将它锁定。有一个彷晚，管理员正在等待最後一班的火车。

他在窗口之远处开始看见火车头的射灯，就移步到控制台，预备当火车到了某一个距离，便将桥放下。但是，这一次当他启动控制器，机件出了问题，桥的锁不能扣上。如果桥没有锁定，那麽火车过桥的时候就很不稳定，有可能会掉到河里。

他知道这是一列载客列车，上面有很多乘客，於是马上跑到锁的所在，打算用一个手动的机械，把桥扣定。火车的声音已经越来越近，他找到这个机械的时候，发觉要用全部的力量和重量，才能将桥的锁勉强压住。很多人的性命现在就直接连在他个人的力量上。在此一刻，桥另外的一方传来一个细小的声音，「爸爸，你在那儿？」原来他四岁的儿子正在过桥找他。

他立刻的反应是对小孩呼叫：「走！快走！」但是火车已十分接近，小孩走也来不及了。这管理员大可以放下他按著的机械，跑过去将他的儿子挽到安全的地方，但却绝对不够时间跑回来。他有的时间不多，要作的决定却是保留他儿子的性命或是车上乘客的性命。

火车很快和很安全的过了桥，在火车上基本上没有人知道有一个小躯体被火车碰撞後而掉在河里，也不知道有一个人正扶著桥的栏杆为他的儿子痛哭，他们见不到这个人怎样拖著沉重的脚步，回家将他儿子的遭遇告诉他的妻子。

如果你可以体会这位管理员的心情，相信你也可以了解当耶稣为了给我们永生的盼望而牺牲他的性命，在天上他父的心情是怎样的。所以当耶稣在十字架的时候，地震动天变黑，这一点也不奇怪。我们怎可以忙一辈子而完全不理会耶稣为我们做的一切呢？