| Back in the days of the Great Depression, a Missouri man named John Griffith was the controller of a great railroad drawbridge across the Mississippi River. One day in the summer of 1937 he decided to take his 8-year-old son, Greg, with him to work. At noon, John Griffith put the bridge up to allow ships to pass and sat on the observation deck with his son to eat lunch. Time passed quickly. Suddenly, he was startled by the shrieking of a train whistle in the distance. He quickly looked at his watch and noticed it was 1:07 - the Memphis Express, with 400 passengers on board, was roaring toward the raised bridge! He leaped from the observation deck and ran back to the control tower. Just before throwing the master lever he glanced down for any ship's below. There a sight caught his eye that caused his heart to leap into his throat. Greg had slipped from the observation deck and had fallen into the massive gears that operate the bridge. His left leg was caught in the cogs of the two main gears! Desperately John's mind whirled to devise a rescue plan. But as soon as he thought of a possiblity he knew there was no way it could be done. Again, with alarming closeness, the train whistle shrieked in the summer air. He could hear the clicking of the train. John knew what he had to do, so he buried his head in his left arm and pushed the master switch forward. The great massive bridge lowered into place just as the Memphis Express began to roar across the river. When John Griffith lifted his head with his face smeared with tears, he looked into the passing windows of the train. There were businessmen casually reading their afternoon papers, finely dressed ladies in the dining car sipping coffee and children pushing long spoons into their dishes of ice cream. No one looked at the control house, and no one looked at the gearbox. With wrenching agony, John Griffith cried out at the steel train: "I sacrificed my son for you people! Don't you care?" The train rushed by, but nobody heard the father's words, which recalled Lamentations 1:12: "Is it nothing to you all, all who pass by?" |
| think about this story.... |
| This man lost his son... he chose to sacrifice his son to save the lives of others who he didn't even know. But he knew it was the "right thing" to sacrifice one to save 400, even if it was his son. There is one who has done the same, allowing his son to be sacrificed and die in our place. Jesus was on the cross for you, to save you (Mark 10:45) and bring you back to God in a relationship that was meant for man since the beginning. The sacrifice of Jesus was not to only "save the world," but to save you especially. God can't stop thinking about you, and on that cross he was thinking of you too, and knew who he was dying for... he knows you(Psalm 139), knows every hair on your head(matthew 10:30) and he knows all the laughs you've had and been there for the tears you've shed. Even though our earthly strives for perfection will always fail, he still loves each one of us. But he loves us too much to let us stay that way. Nails didn't hold him to the cross. Love did. It is that love that gives you every good gift in life(James 1:17). So do you want to know the creator of love and joy? Doing "good works" will not bring anyone closer to God. No matter what we do, we fall short of his expectations (Romans 3:23). The only way to know God, the only way for true life, is to know Jesus. It's already a gift to you, bought by jesus' life. Just like any gift, you just have to take it and make it yours. He's reaching for you now and working in your life every day. The ball is now in your court, you have to make a decision. Are you going to accept this gift? Jesus promises life to the fullest (John 10:10). For me, storms still blow my way, but I have made my house on solid ground and it cannot fall (Matthew 7:24-25). All I need to get through anything is to rely on jesus, who promises to always be with me (Matthe 28:20). If you doubt there is a God that wants a relationship with you, and you were right and I was wrong, well then what have I lost... ? nothing, I will have lived a good life. But if I was right, and you were wrong... what have you lost? "And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 24:51 Would you be acting differently if you knew today was your last day? So try this, you don't have to change anything, just ask god to help you find him. Faith as big as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:28-30) |
| father's love letter to you |
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