One day, Mr. Griffin was showing his young son, Jeremy, how he operated the bridge across the river. Suddenly, as they were down by the large gears that lifted the bridge, Mr. Griffin received a call. A voice said, "Quick, Mr. Griffin, an unscheduled train is coming with over 500 people on board. It's going 100 kilometers per hour. Put the bridge down quickly."

Mr. Griffin turned to his son and said, "Jeremy, you stand right here on this platform. Your daddy is going up to the control tower to lower the bridge so that the train can pass over. Then I will come back and show you around some more." "Sure daddy,"' said Jeremy excitedly, "go ahead. I'll wait for you right here." So Mr. Griffin made the 50-foot climb up to the control tower.

When Mr. Griffin reached the control tower, he turned around and, to his horror, he saw Jeremy climbing in among the huge gears in the engine room. It would take at least 5 minutes for Mr. Griffin to climb down to the gears, pull his son out, and get back up to the control tower. Five minutes . . . but the train would be passing through in less than three minutes at 100 kilometers an hour - and with more than 500 people on board. Mr. Griffin had to make a decision . . .

Either he would push the lever down, sacrifice his son's life, and allow the train to whisk across the bridge, or else he would save his son's life, leave the bridge up and watch the train smash into the bridge and see over 500 passengers plummet to their death.

'Mr. Griffin made his decision. He put his hand to the lever, pushed it down, and with pounding heart he watched as the wheels began to turn. His son was drawn in and crushed to death just seconds before the train came hurtling around the bend and dashed across the bridge.

As the train crossed over the bridge, not one passenger had any idea that Mr. Griffin was pounding on the window of the control tower crying . . . "People, people, people, don't you know what I have done so that you might live?"'

But the people sat comfortably in their seats, reading their newspapers and gazing at the scenery, oblivious of the great sacrifice that had just been made for them that day.

This is a horrifying story indeed, and yet today so many of us can be likened to the passengers on that train. We have become so absorbed with life that we have all but forgotten the big decision that God once made for you and I - when He decided to offer His Son as a voluntary sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins.

Would God give the life of His beloved Son if He did not love you, dear reader? Some have taught that God is harsh and exacting, but how can this be true of One who was willing to give His Son to die in your place?

It was love that persuaded God to allow His Son to be crushed between "the gears of sin" - unfathomable love.

It was love that drove Jesus to pay the ultimate price that you and I may be set free - unbounded love.

And now, today, if you accept His love, and if you give yourself to Him, then, sinful as your life may have been, God will accept you just as if you had never sinned, He will consider Jesus character as though it were your character, and He will invite you to live with Him forever, not just as one who has been reclaimed from the pits of degradation, but as His very own Son or Daughter - as an heir of the universe.

This is the good news in a nutshell. Jesus has paid the full price for your sinfulness and mine - God pulled the lever, and Jesus was crushed for you and I. As a result, we can rejoice in the sense of sins forgiven, and we can look beyond death and the grave with utmost confidence. The blood of God's Son bought us hope - not just a fleeting hope, but a hope that is as sure as the next sunrise.

If you would like to meet this wonderful Jesus, we refer you to the feature Friend of Friends. If you would like to know more about this incredibly good news, you might like to consider the feature Hope Unlimited. If you are having trouble with your self-image then you will be greatly encouraged by the feature Prescription For Negative Thinkers. If you feel the need for change in your life, than please consider the feature, A Brand New You.