[329 words]
Since it opened in 1937, more than 2,000 people have jumped off of the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to commit suicide. The jumps have become so commonplace that authorities have placed signs on the bridge that read: “THE CONSEQUENCES OF JUMPING FROM THIS BRIDGE ARE FATAL AND TRAGIC.”
They have even included a phone number that one could call for immediate counseling. They are desperate to get people to reconsider their decision to jump! Of all the people who have jumped from the bridge over the years, less than 1% have survived.
Additionally, we are told that all of the survivors share a common trait: as soon as they went over the rail, they immediately regretted their decision. One man said that as soon as his hands left the railing he knew he had made a terrible mistake. He did not want to die.
This is a hard reminder of the way sin works. Sin leads to regret. If you are tempted to do something you know you should not do…stop! There are alternatives! The sin you are about to commit will surely lead to regret (cf. Prov. 14:12; 2 Cor. 7:10). The Lord wants us to reconsider our decision to jump.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
If you have done things that you regret, come back to the Father’s House! He longs to embrace penitent children!
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).
We don’t have to live with regret. We don’t have to jump! There is a way of escape.
Bart Warren
Glasgow, KY