Bridges

Without bridges we cannot really go anywhere.

Whether it is from the driveway to the road, from the road to the grocery store, or across a vast body of water, we are usually restricted without some sort of bridge.

Bridges fascinate me. They are a combination of engineering marvel and often artistic beauty.

There are of course other technologies that serve as bridges. As I am writing this blog, the Perseverance Rover has just successfully landed on Mars. Another bridge to another world.

Another bridge to the heavens.

According to the NASA website, the main mission of the Perseverance is to “seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of regolith (rocks and soil) for possible return to earth.[i]”

At its core, discovering more about our universe beyond this small piece of real estate we call Earth, is in its pure form a human response to the very creation of God—his universe. Every time a rocket has blasted off to another world, carried a shuttle, built the International Space Station or landed on the moon we are crossing a bridge in our search for life – but in reality, we are searching for his hand in our life.

There is one very special bridge that transcends any physical or technological bridge. That bridge is the cross of Jesus Christ. Although this particular bridge was initially constructed with human hands (the physical cross), the event that transpired upon it was constructed by God (the work of Christ on the cross and his subsequent resurrection).

And it is the only bridge to heaven.

The Bible tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NET Bible). Glory in Scripture is understood to refer to the presence of God. When we sin, and all of us have, we cannot enter into his presence. This means eternal separation from God, which means Hell.

It is truly ironic that the purpose of the Perseverance rover is to search another world for “signs of ancient life.” The Creator of any and all life, whether it is ancient life on Mars or current life of Earth, is the same Creator-God that created the entire universe, including Mars and Earth, and this Creator of ours has already offered us the greatest life possible—eternal life with him in heaven.

The entire purpose of Christ, God’s Son, in coming to earth, was to die in our place on that cross, therefore becoming the only bridge for sinful man to a perfectly holy God. We cannot reach heaven on a rover or by crossing any earthly bridge, be it physical, philosophical, political, religious, technological or through our good works.

The only way to heaven is by crossing the bridge that is the Cross of Jesus Christ. We must trust in Christ alone for salvation as we confess and repent of our sins.[ii]

It is a true wonder what man can and should do with technology as we discover more and more about God’s unbelievable universe. But let it remind of us our Creator and that he has already sent life to us—true, eternal life with our Creator-God— through his Son Jesus on the Cross.

The cross of Jesus Christ is the only bridge to heaven.

Without this bridge, we really cannot go anywhere.

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Ben Bounds is the founder of Mercy Road Ministries (www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ also www.benbounds.com). He has served as pastor of churches across Texas for the last thirty years and is an ordained minister with The Christian and Missionary Alliance. He is currently engaged in an active writing and preaching ministry.

He is the author of The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God published by Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, 2017.

Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.

He may be reached at benbounds695@gmail.com or through his above website or facebook page.

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[i]https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ [ii] We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that: "Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen” If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church to become a part of as well as begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament. Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.

©2021 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.