Landscapes are dotted across the American horizon with iconic architecture. One glimpse of a picture and you know immediately where the picture was taken just by identifying the structure. The White House, Mt. Rushmore, The Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, and the Gateway Arch are just a few of those recognizable structures. Another one was birthed on this day in 1933 when 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt began to be excavated, making way for California’s signature pièce de resistance: The Golden Gate Bridge.
It took just 1603 days to get the bridge completed and for it to be opened for traffic on May 27, 1937. The bridge connected the city of San Francisco with Marion County, a connection previously made by boat or ferry.
The statistics on the structure are impressive. “The main span, 4,200 feet long, is suspended from two cables hung from towers 746 feet high; at midpoint the roadway is 265 feet above mean high water.”1 A total of 389,000 yards of concrete was used. A standard-sized concrete mixer truck transports between 8-10 cubic yards at a time! There were 83,000 tons of structural steel. “The Golden Gate Bridge has 250 pairs of vertical suspender ropes that are spaced 50 feet apart across both sides of the Bridge. Each suspender rope is 2-11/16 inches in diameter. All of the ropes were replaced between 1972 and 1976, with the last rope replacement completed on May 4, 1976.
“The main cables rest on top of the 746-foot main towers in huge steel castings called saddles. The diameter of one main cable including the exterior wrapping is 36 3/8
inches. The length of one main cable is 7,650 ft. And, the total length of galvanized steel wire used in both main cables is 80,000 miles.”2
The bridge handles 4,000 pounds per lineal foot and when the winter storms and winds hit, it can bow and flex between six and seven feet without snapping!
And what’s up with the color? Is that just a California thing? The bridge is painted orange vermillion “because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge’s visibility in fog.”3
While I know those statistics are impressive, I still think it takes a lot of faith to cross that bridge. Knowing that California is prone to earthquakes and the fact that steel rusts and corrodes, it sure makes me nervous to think about driving on something like that. Oh, I know, the experts say this is a protective layer of rust, and the bridge is inspected regularly. That still doesn’t make me feel better.
There’s only one bridge I can say that I trust completely and it’s not a bridge made by human hands.
Mankind has always wanted to reach God. They want to have a friendship with Him this side of the grave and a forever home after death. However, there is a great gulf between God and man caused by the division of sin.
A life before Christ is described in Ephesians 2:1-3. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
Romans 3:23 reminds us, “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” That means that nobody can bridge the gap between God and man. Isaiah said that our righteousnesses are as “filthy rags.” Even the very best of humanity falls far short of God’s glory. So, what can be done to bridge this gap?
Ephesians 2:4-7 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
Jesus died on that old wooden cross, bridging the gap in His sacrificial death to pay for our sins. Through the power of His resurrection, those dead in trespasses and sins can be made alive. Trusting in that Bridge is the best decision a person will ever make.
Can you say you’ve done that? Are you trusting Jesus, the Bridge to God and eternal life? John 14:6 says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
1https://www.britannica.com/topic/Golden-Gate-Bridge
2https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/history-research/statistics-data/design-construction-stats/
3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_BridgeBottom of Form
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
