CROSSING OVER

“Now Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:26-28)

The two great links between earth and heaven are the two advents of our Lord: or, rather, he is the great bond of union, by these two appearings. When the world had revolted, and God had been defiled by his own creatures, a great gulf was opened between God and man. The first coming of Christ was like a bridge which crossed the chasm and made a way of access from God to man, and then from man to God. Our Lord’s second advent will make that bridge far broader, until heaven shall come down to earth, and ultimately earth shall go up to heaven. ….Here, too, is the place for us to build a grand suspension bridge, by which, through faith, we ourselves may cross from this side to the other of the stormy river of time….At his first advent, we adore him with gratitude, rejoicing in ‘God with us’, as making himself to be our near kinsman. We gather with grateful boldness around the infant in the manger, and behold our God. But in the second advent we are struck with a solemn reverence, a trembling awe. We are not less grateful, but we are more prostrate as we bow before the majesty of the triumphant Christ. Jesus in his glory is an overpowering vision. (Charles Spurgeon, Between The Two Appearings, March 15, 1891)

When we drive over a suspension bridge we notice the two piers which support the span. The famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is supported by two towers which rise 746 feet above water. Each leg of the towers is 33 x 54 feet. Each tower weighs 44,000 tons. There are 600,000 rivets in each tower. Two main cables pass over the tops of the main towers and are secured in concrete anchorages at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles of wire in the two main cables, and it took over six months to spin them. It was the longest span in the world from its completion in 1937 until the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was built in New York in 1964. Today it still has the ninth-longest suspension span in the world. The world’s longest suspension span (distance between support towers) of 6,529 feet is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, which was completed in 1998.

The massive column which supports the bridge on this side of eternity is Christ’s coming to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. “Out of selfless love for human beings, Jesus leaves his state as the one without sin and enters into the guilt of human beings. He takes it upon himself.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) This appearing was a singular moment in human history – it was ‘once for all.’ He did away with the consequences of sin for all time by his sacrifice. Neither he, nor anyone else, need do it again. His first coming was to do away with our sin by taking our guilt, our failings, upon himself. This is the only way God has provided for doing away with our sins. Just as we die only once and then face judgment, so Christ died once to take our judgment upon himself. He suffered for us so that we might not have to suffer everlasting death. Such was God’s love for us.

The solid support on the other side of the deep gulf of time is Christ’s second appearing, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. When he comes a second time it will be without weakness, pain, poverty and shame. He will come to celebrate the great victory of grace over sin, life over death, good over evil. He will come to escort us over the bridge of resurrection.

Salvation means the perfection of our humanity. There will be no aching limbs or any physical or emotional infirmity. Our feeble hands will be strengthened and our weak knees will be steadied. He will come with divine retribution to save us. “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs….the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion singing, everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (Isaiah 35:3-10)

Salvation is not solitary – we are not alone crossing that bridge. We are accompanied by thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly (Hebrews 12:22) and the communion of saints who surround us (Hebrews 12:1). There will be a family reunion in heaven of all those who have crossed over the bridge, who have awaited his appearing. What a joyful reunion it will be!

This appearing is to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. How many are waiting for him, looking for his coming. How many are waiting at the bridge for the span to come down so that you can pass over to the other side? How many are preparing for his coming? How can we tell if we are ready and waiting for him to come for us and take us over the bridge? It is when we see this life as a mere shadow of that which is to come. It is when we long for his coming as a bride longs for her wedding day, as a bridegroom longs for his bride, as a pregnant mother longs for the birth of her child, as the wounded soldier, sailor or airman or woman, longs for health and home and family, as a lost child longs for her Mama or Papa.

The Bible ends with the promise: “Behold, I am coming soon! Yes, I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:7,12,20) Strong love hates separation, it pines for reunion. It cries, “Come, Lord!” Longing follows on the heels of loving. When we expect the Lord to come, we shall be concerned to have everything ready for him. If we know that he is coming at any moment for us, that we shall be summoned one day to cross over the bridge, we will get ready.

Life is short, and eternity is long. What we do now is but a preparation for the future. We know that Christmas is coming, and we prepare for it. We know we cannot leave such preparations for the last moment. We know that one day soon the Lord is coming for us. We cannot delay or avoid that journey, nor should we wish to if the promises of salvation are real. Because the Lord may delay his coming we should not assume that he has forgotten us. Nor should we forget him.

We should not be surprised when he comes for us. This life is not meant to be forever. Rather than being fearful and anxious about the future, God wants us to anticipate it with joy because of his grace. He has shown he loves us by what he did in his first coming. He will welcome us on the other side if we will welcome him into our lives now.

(Ted Schroder, SOUL FOOD, Vol.4, pp.242-245)