Be A Bridge Builder

Scripture

13For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”  Romans 10:13-15

Observation

Paul is really talking about himself  before his encounter with Christ when he describes the resistance that Israel has towards the message of Jesus. I can’t help but think he is thinking of how Ananias built a bridge to this Christian killer. Against all logic and reason Ananias followed The Holy Spirit and brought the Good News to a blind Saul. “17So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.” (Acts 9:17-18).  Paul might have been thinking also about Barnabas who went against the opinions of the early Church Christians and built a bridge to Saul who had now become Paul. “25Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)  (Acts 11:25-26). Now, Paul was the bridge builder to the Gentiles and is calling all of us to start building our own bridges to those who don’t know Jesus across every nation, tribe, and tongue. Can you imagine if Ananias and Barnabas had just stayed home?

Application

I think about how our family stuck out like a soar thumb when we first arrived in Kona, Hawaii in 1979 from Portland, Oregon.  My parents moving in obedience to God’s call to Kona meant my Dad leaving his Chef position at a gourmet restaurant and my Mom leaving her whole family as they moved with two small children.  They weren’t  sure what was going to happen, they were just sure they needed to build a bridge. My parents ended up leading a very influential family, the Matsuyamas, to Jesus. This family owned one of the largest construction companies in Kona and had deep ties and Hawaiian roots. You could never have imagined these two cultures combining instead of colliding, but Jesus love connected us at such a deep level that they made us a part of their Ohana. Iola & Clyde Motsuyama asked my parents to disciple them, but it was their bridge of Ohana that truly made the difference in our lives and experience there in Kona. Because they built a bridge to us it opened up relationships and the Gospel to so many who would not have been able to see past our skin or our “mainlandness”. We were loved by others because they loved us. The Matsuyamas were bridge builders. Now, when a Bridge is built by the Master and for the Master it will continue to stand because it will last. Who could have known, apart from Jesus, that 35 years later my own family would be walking back over that bridge and connecting with our Kona Ohana again, this time with our kids and the Motsuyama’s kids. Wow! When we moved from Seattle to Kona in 2014 I was able to see many of their family come back to Jesus. Building a bridge always requires leaving our comfort zone and crossing to where the other person is. What Bridge is God asking us to build right now that will last into eternity?  All it takes is one person willing to be a catalyst to cross from one side to the other. The definition of a Catalyst is “a person that participates in an event that brings about a change just by being present. A person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic, or energetic.”  This is what Jesus has called of His followers to be in these last days!

Prayer

Jesus it’s easy to get caught up focusing on my side.  My comforts, my friends, my opinions can easily trump what You’re calling me to see.  You’re asking me to pay attention to the person on the other side of the chasm. The person who doesn’t feel there’s a place for them in church and doesn’t know You want them to be a part of Your Ohana, your family. They just don’t know it until someone tells them and that someone is me. Let me keep building bridges, choosing connection over comfort, until You come back for us! You built a bridge to me and brought me to salvation through Your love. How can I do any less than this for others?