Like a Bridge...

A couple of days ago I was running along the East river. It is just over 4 miles from my apartment to the Brooklyn Bridge. I like to run to the bridge, then walk up South Street Seaport, and catch the 6 Train home. When I run by myself I usually listen to podcasts of Greg Boyd preaching, or music. I hate running, by the way. Some of my buddies here roped me into doing a 10k run every Sunday morning, and I don't hate it as much when I have someone to run with. But to be able to do that once a week I have to run during the week- usually by myself. So the messages or the music help the time go by with a little less pain.

On this day as I ran under the Manhattan Bridge and saw the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance, the sun was beginning to set and the view looking out over the East River was spectacular. At that moment the next song began on my i-pod...  an old Simon and Garfunkel song- Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Paul Simon once shared that he got the idea for the song when he was passing by a country preacher, somewhere in Scotland I recall, and heard him say that Jesus was a bridge over troubled waters. Simon did not include the name "Jesus" in the lyrics, but if you insert his name whenever you hear the word "I", it fits.  Check this out:

When you're weary, feeling small,

When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. when times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When you're down and out,
When you're on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I'll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When I was young and listened to those words I never thought much about the meaning of the phrase "I will lay me down". As I continued to run along the river listening to the words I could see the meaning. There is no way I could get from Manhattan to Brooklyn without the bridge. I was incapable and stuck where I was. But there was a bridge. 

Life has its share of troubled waters we encounter. And as the lyrics of the song suggest, Jesus' offer to us is to be there and to be the way, that bridge over the troubled waters. If there is any doubt about that, remember that he literally laid down his life to make a bridge for us to see and know and be with God forever.