Verse: Luke 16:26
Fun Fact: The New River Gorge Bridge is the longest single-arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
Favorite Hike: Long Point Trail
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is America’s 63rd national park, added to the list in 2020. Previously a national river, the park covers 53 miles of shoreline, preserving whitewater rapids, cliffs, and forests. The park boundaries are concentrated within the heart of the Gorge. The Gauley River National Recreation Area is situated to the north, offering some of the country’s best kayaking whitewater rafting. The park and surrounding areas are also a destination for rock climbers and similar adventure enthusiasts.
The park doesn’t have any lodging or campgrounds, but primitive camping is allowed along the river on a first-come first-served basis. However, the park is close to several cities with plenty of options for accommodations and restaurants, including Beckley, Fayetteville, and Glen Oak. New River Gorge NP is also unique in that pets are allowed on all trains, as long as owners follow the park pet policies.
The New River Gorge Bridge is the most iconic feature in the park — it’s even on the commemorative state quarter. The bridge was completed in 1977. At the time of construction, it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world. It held this title until 2003, when the Lupa Bridge in China surpassed it. However, it is still the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the United States and the third-highest bridge in the country.
There is even an annual Bridge Day festival. It is the only day of the year when people are allowed to BASE jump off the bridge into the gorge, an activity usually banned within national parks.
In our modern day, sometimes we don’t grasp the engineering accomplishment of bridge construction or the value bridges create for us, allowing us to cross gorges and rivers that previous generations never thought possible. For example, the completion of the New River Gorge Bridge reduced a 40-minute drive down a narrow mountain road to less than one minute across. It was a massive project, taking years to complete and millions of dollars.
The very definition of a bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle, such as a body of water, valley, or road, without closing the way underneath. It is constructed to provide passage over the obstacle that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross.
The Bible describes this idea of a gap, a divide, and the way to cross.
This parable is about a rich man (unnamed) and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man lives a lavish life with fine clothes and extravagant feasts, while Lazarus is a beggar with disease and disability. As you’ll read, they both die, and the rich man goes to hell and Lazarus goes to heaven.
Look specifically at verses 26:
“...Between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.”
A parable is a story used to illustrate a spiritual truth, and this truth is a serious warning. The Pharisees often practiced a false religion, believing that if you are rich, you are blessed by God, and if you are poor, you are cursed. We unfortunately still see this taught today. This story in Luke is a complete reversal of that belief. In verses 22-24 we see Lazarus is carried to heaven; it says to Abrahams’s side. This would have been significant to the Jews, who knew Abraham to be the father of the faith. This indicates a place of privilege and honor. And we see the rich man in Hades tormented in the flames (vs 24).
Then we come to verse 26 where we are offered this grave warning. The chasm between heaven and hell is fixed. It stands forever. The rich man makes a request, if this is the case, could Abraham send Lazarus to warn his family, so they don’t end up in the same place he does. Abraham replies that “they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them…” (vs 28), but the rich man protests further and says it needs to be someone raised from the dead for them to believe. Abraham replies once more, “if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be pursued through one rise from the dead.”
Friends, these verses can be hard to hear, but let this be an encouragement. We HAVE what we need to believe. We have the scripture. We HAVE someone who has already been raised from the dead, Jesus himself. We have a way to salvation, to an eternity with Christ in heaven. For those who repent and believe (Mark 1:15) there is an escape from the wrath and torment. This is the gospel, that the Lord, through Jesus’ death on the cross, through the atonement for our sins, has made a way for us.
I pray as you visit New River Gorge National Park, you are reminded of this and are eager to share it with others as both a warning and an invitation. May something as small as a bridge be used in your life as a reminder of how the LORD, through his death and resurrection, has made a way for us.
"I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters... (Isaiah 43:15-16)
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