Don't Jump!

A couple of weeks ago Leslie and I were vacationing in San Francisco and one day we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.  The Bridge is a work of art.  Spanning the inlet from the Pacific Ocean to the San Francisco Bay it is often the thing that says “Welcome Home!” to those who have been away at sea.  But for many it is the end of the line in a much darker way.  The Golden Gate Bridge is the world's top suicide site. Since it opened on May 27, 1937, there have been an estimated 1,600 deaths in which the body was recovered, and many more unconfirmed.  37 people jumped to their death in 2011—the fourth highest total since the bridge opened.  An additional 100 people were stopped from jumping. In other words, every 2 1/2 days, someone went to the bridge planning to jump.  Amazingly, about 1 out of every 50 jumpers survives the 220 foot fall—some crippled for life, others with only minor injuries.

 

 

 

It occurs to me that following Jesus is very much like patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge.  We’re in the business of saving lives.  We hold up the truth; warning people against a course of action that is fatal and tragic, trying to talk them back from the edge.  Even when they jump we’re running a search and rescue operation to save who we can.

 

Many of the people we want to help are obviously in big trouble.  Their relationships are falling apart. They are depressed, lonely and despairing. They have a sense of desperation.  They know they’re in trouble, and because of that they are the most likely ones to call on the name of the Lord. 

 

But for many people we’re working with the fatal jump will not look like a tragedy at first glance.  They may have a relatively happy life, good relationships, healthy family, good job, etc.  They just don’t acknowledge Jesus as savior and lord of their life.  These are people in great peril.  Our task is to intervene with love and truth—to engage them with grace, and to pray that God will open their eyes to understand who Jesus is and what he has done.

 

I wonder if there may be someone reading this who is about to jump.  The problem with running away from God is that you are always running to a dead end.  Don’t jump! There is hope.  Make the call.

 

Brian