This, then is Christianity: to smash the barriers and get next to your fellow man.
– John T. Faris (Leaves of Gold, pg. 119)
Bridges are really cool. Don’t you agree? There are several styles of bridge design: arch, truss, suspension and others, with numerous variations on each. (If you want to see a short selection of iconic bridges, check out www.historyofbridges.com.) Regardless of their design, the basic purpose of a bridge is to overcome an obstacle that would otherwise make connecting two points difficult. Overcoming those obstacles typically makes life better for us.
Speaking of obstacles, humans have a great capacity for creating them ourselves. We divide ourselves over our politics, our economic standing, our family heritage, our social history, even the color of our skin. We can be so quick to think about another, “You’re not of my tribe,” and immediately we have an obstacle to our ability to relate. Even if we believe, deep down, that overcoming those obstacles is good for the human race, building the necessary bridges is a difficult task.
Jesus was a master bridge-builder. Consider what these select lines of scripture say about him. “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (John 4:9). “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” (Matthew 9:11). “There was a man covered with leprosy…and (Jesus) stretched out His hand and touched him” (Luke 5:12-13). Conversation, social events, touching: these are bridge-building actions. But if Jesus were playing by the rules (written or unwritten), he would not be having a conversation with a Samaritan. He would not be sharing meals with tax collectors, and he certainly would not be touching people suffering from leprosy. Fortunately for all these people, Jesus didn’t play by the rules.
Former U.S. Congressman Dr. Ron Paul makes the interesting observation that people, when given absolute freedom of choice, will choose to segregate ourselves. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is church. The saying is largely true: eleven o’clock on Sunday mornings is the most segregated hour in our country. Why? Not because it is forced, but because we choose for it to be. Before you begin leaving me comments to explain, please know I haven’t forgotten that factors such as cultural heritage, worship style, and other things are part of the reason. Still, the fact that we choose not to build bridges in the most natural and expected places is curious, at least.
Should we be mindful of this? I think so. The reason is because the Bible describes the Kingdom as a reality where every bridge has been completed. John describes in his vision, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). If we know it’s going to be like this in eternity, it seems at least reasonable that we would want to start getting used to it now.
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 