“How did you get close enough to take this picture?”

The question appeared last night below a photo of an old abandoned bridge I posted in an online group to which I belong.  We all love old bridges and share photos and stories with each other.

I was confused.

I’m still not completely sure I understand the question.  But, I think I might.

In the group, we’re encouraged not to trespass on private property.  It’s also understood that we don’t ignore warning signs about dangerous structures.  And, we shouldn’t breach fences or locked gates.

I had clambered through a couple of steel barriers at the end of this particular bridge to walk across.  Could that be what the questioner was referring to?

Am I a lawbreaker?

I remember the conversation with the Lovely Lady as we had approached the old steel structure on that day and saw the bars across the lane.  I was certain of my legal standing.

“Those are just there to keep vehicles off the bridge.  They’re not for pedestrians.”

I said I was certain of the legality of my actions.

But still, I wonder.

Less than an hour later, a few miles away, I climbed to the top of a railroad embankment near an old trestle.  Nearing the top, I saw the sign.

“Private Property,” it said.  “Keep off the tracks.”

I stood near the sign, leaning over as close as I could get to the tracks to acquire my photo.  My arm and upper body stretched well past the sign.

But, I didn’t set a foot on that track!

I kept the letter of the law.  I did.  But, last night I read a news story about a man and his companion who didn’t a few years ago.  On that same trestle, one man died and the other was seriously injured as they walked the tracks.

The trains frequently travel over 50 miles per hour across the trestle there.  It’s impossible to stop a train moving at that rate of speed—and they’d try—even if it was just for someone’s head or hand stretched out over the edge of the tracks.

Why is it, when I looked at that sign as I climbed the steep embankment, all I could think about was how ridiculous it was that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do?  All I desired was to get a good photo across the trestle.  That’s it.

But, that stupid sign!

So, obeying the letter of the law, I pushed the envelope, leaning over as far as possible.

But, the spirit of the law—what I couldn’t see in that moment—the spirit of the law was only for my good.  To keep me from injury.  Or even death.

I am a lawbreaker.  I want what I want.  And, I’ll stretch across the boundaries as far as necessary to get what I desire.

Across the spirit of the law.

I am a lawbreaker.

I can’t help but remember that this is the week we consider (more than any other time) the coming of a Savior.  He is the one who took on Himself the penalty of my lawbreaking.

He took away the penalty for all of us lawbreakers.

He writes on our hearts what God requires.  No longer will we look at that stupid sign, at the written rules, and wish we could stand in the path of destruction; we now can understand His heart, His love, and His purposes.

Lawbreakers?

Yes—every one of us.  Every one. (see Romans 3:23)

But, He has put eternity in our hearts.  Not rules.  Not words. (see Romans 3:24!)

The events we commemorate this week make it possible for lawbreakers to become His heirs, His family, instead of His enemies.

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
(John 1:12, NLT)

It may take me a while to work out the boundaries thing.  There may be more bridges crossed before that happens.

Photos may follow. 

I hope no one will be hurt in the process.

But, I think I’ll take some time this week to consider the Savior and His astounding gift of grace.

At least it’ll keep me off the railroad tracks.

 

“There is no man so good, who, were he to submit all his thoughts and actions to the laws, would not deserve hanging ten times in his life.”
(Michel de Montaigne)

“You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
(2 Corinthians 3:3, NIV)

 

 

© Paul Phillips. He’s Taken Leave. 2024. All Rights Reserved.