The Bridge

This week a dear friend, Megan Johnston, wrote a nice post about the bridge between the human and divine. Her writing inspired some deep thinking on my part and one I would like to share. Before doing so I would like to quote Megan as well as thank her for being a friend that I can always discuss openly my thoughts about faith and spirituality. This is an excerpt from her writing, "I don't see why it's wrong to think that as humans, we are capable of having vastly different ideas of the same God. God is infinite, we are finite. Our human brains are naturally going to understand the concept of an infinite God through our own traditions, personal history, and culture. We naturally need something to "bridge the gap"- and that need, worldwide, manifests itself as religion and spirituality."

I do not want to add to what Megan wrote as much as I want to discuss the sedge-way this created in my mind to explore my own thoughts about the valleys that divide and the bridges that need to be built. I think if one were to look back at many of my blogs you would find this quote, " the world is not as we see it, the world is as we are". Which simply means that the way we view things is the state of our heart, mind, and soul. That became crystal clear this week as I was speaking to a person that felt offended by another. She had what she thought was enough facts to form a negative opinion of a person she once liked. When I filled in a missing link to the puzzle all the sudden she felt bad for the way she felt. I wonder how often that happens in other facets of life? Relationships are destroyed, friendships are splintered, and businesses are broken all because we lose focus and get caught up on the misinformation which in turn creates a vast divide with little to no desire to build a bridge. I, like you, see it all the time, where pride, ego, anger, and jealousy destroy so much good in the world. 

That is where my mind went as I read the completion of Megan's writing. Our finite minds as amazing and miraculous yet still have limitations. For reasons we do not know, yet I am thankful for, God gave us emotions. We have the ability to feel love, sadness, joy, bitterness, jealousy, jubilation, and peace. That is what makes us human. The beauty of our humanity also is the same thing that creates that innate desire to find what is beyond this realm we call life. I think we live in a time where there is a great microcosm of religious beliefs, yet most are seeking the same thing. We all seek the love and direction of an infinite God with the hopes of having a life beyond our final earthly breath. Certainly there are radicals in all religions, yes Christianity, included that makes all look bad. 

I recall the song by Bon Jovi "You Give Love a Bad Name", that is what we as humans do when we try as we may to force our core beliefs on people. A belief that we ourselves struggle to believe. We become the valley not the bridge. That is a tough concept to accept but you must admit it has merit. You give love a bad name when you complain about the actions of others yet make excuses for you own. I was reading recently about a church that had a group of members that were complaining about the transition from southern Gospel music to something more contemporary. This wasn't just a slight argument, this in fact blow up the bridge and created a canyon so deep that the church actually split. 

Give thought for a minute to your own life. Think about friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances,  or just passer by's, what you see in them is NOT who they truly are, but how you see them is who  you truly are. Are you a bridge builder or ditch digger? Are you wheat or weed? The answer may seem obvious, but when you get below the surface you should quickly realize that you cannot see life there the eyes of others. When you attempt to play God and see life as you think it should be through the lenses of other people more times than not you are digging a ditch instead of building a bridge. 

In life, as in the kingdom of God, we must represent peace, love, and forgiveness. Anything less will always result in valleys not bridges. Our humanity will always rear it's head and our God given emotions will come out. That is where our opportunity lies. Let's learn to put pride and ego aside and be the first to forgive, the first to embrace, and the first to accept. We cannot play the role of antagonist discretely yet expect others to think our heart is warm. Basically I am saying you can't fake it till you make it. If your heart is cold you can't paint it as warm. 

The valleys in life are deep and bridge builders are few. Nothing comes easy anymore but it can sure be less complex when we decide to pick up a hammer and nails and not a shovel. The old saying that God can move mountains but don't be surprised if he hands you a shovel is so apropos to this blog. I truly hope and desire that you will bury the demons of hate that have resided in you for weeks, months, or years. I hope you will put aside all the bitterness you harbor toward former friends and family, be the first to reach out in sincerity regardless of what you get in return. Be a bridge builder the rest of your life and trust me the view from above is much better than the one from below. DO NOT wait on the actions of others, this my friends is up to you. We are one in God and we are one with each other. We can be active participates in making this oneness complete or we can actively divide the one body that unites this amazing universe.

God bless

Dale