Being the Bridge

As I hiked today with Kenny, the sight of this bridge stopped me in my tracks.  Such a simple little thing but for me it represented something more.  As soon as I saw it I told Kenny it surely should make it into one of his sermons and then I remembered I had a blog so I could stop trying to give him preaching ideas (after 20 years of doing so) and write it myself.  A relief for both of us!!

We all need people who are bridges in our lives.  You might be wondering what that even means.  My definition is someone who helps us a reach a place we feel we cannot get to on our own.  My kids are my bridges to understanding their generation and my husband is my bridge often to understanding Scripture.  (It is a true blessing to be married to a walking Bible concordance).  My friend, Leila, is my bridge to becoming a better teacher and Nancy bridges me to the life of a missionary in a third world country.  We all have bridge builders in our lives.  Who are yours?

As we understand that Jesus was the ultimate bridge to God because our sin kept us helplessly separated from Him, we know we are not supposed to be Jesus to anyone.....however, through  teaching, disciplining, sharing the Gospel, and loving people we are to be bridges.

Whose lives are you impacting?  Who would say that your care and love are pointing them to Jesus?  A smile and hand shake is not cutting it on a Sunday morning.  Who are you bringing?  Who are you walking beside? Who are you showering love on when they least expect it?  I am not talking about your best friends......I mean the lost, the broken hearted, and the lonely.  Does your heart ache for them?  Is your life positioned so you even have contact with anyone besides the people just like you?

We must look to Jesus and know He has called us to live like He did- to walk with tax collectors, prostitutes, and lepers.  In our day, that means all who are far from God.  I will let you fill in those blanks.

We must become alive and truly live.  We can't sit back and spend all our emotional energy on what theme park we are taking our kids to this summer and how we are going to overindulge them.  As you reflect back on your summer, how much has been about you and yours and how much has been  about seeking to find ways to be a safe refuge for hurting people?  How have you modeled Jesus to your children?

Let's make these last few weeks of summer matter.

We will be talking about subjects like this every Wednesdays at First Presbyterian Church from 6-8 PM.

Who is with me?