Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Bridge Guy

I have become fascinated by, and drawn to, bridges and pictures of bridges. A certain amount of this fascination is architectural and aesthetic, but at the core it's still a functional fascination.

Somebody somewhere decided that these two things must be connected -- two land masses, or two sidewalks, or just two sides of one creek. Could a person drive from Oakland to San Francisco without using bridges? Sure, if he's willing to drive 80 miles of California city traffic! Who's going to do that when the Bay Bridge is only 4.5 miles long?

Or, if getting to Grandmother's house requires going "over the river and through the woods," how exactly am I getting over this river? Jumping? Hang gliding? Scuba diving? (Oh wait, that would be "under the river and through the woods.") I sure hope somebody has built one of those Vermont-style covered bridges!

And again, I'm back to the church. The fractured body of Christ, which somewhere along the way decided that generations don't really belong together. They're so different from one another; let's keep them apart. Teens on one island, grandparents on another. I'm sure we can think of lots of great reasons for this, and I certainly would expect to have some age-specific instruction, but what we seem to end up with is, well, segregation.

Do we not need bridges between the generations? Do we not need wise mentors handing life-tested faith downward? Do we not need the youthful enthusiasm to infect the whole church body, including those wise mentors?

Who will build these bridges?

I'm working on it. Anybody else?

3 comments:

  1. I love this challenge--and I think our service is doing great things to help forge these bridges in our hearts--I love seeing all the XYZers in service alongside the high schoolers, and getting to be in a small group with three generations. Thanks for being willing to be the one to prod us all :)

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  2. You are right on track, Scott!!! Absolutely . . . this is the body of Christ in action. As "seniors," we need to see the energy and happiness of the little ones - as "tweeners," we need to love on those who are older and struggling . . . bottom line, we all need one another! - Pat Anderson

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  3. I'm with you!
    I've often been scared of bridges...crossing the Mackinaw Bridge in high winds in a little car when you're young will do that to you...but we did it every year sometimes twice a year to go and see my grandparents...so we could be with the older generation.
    I am so glad that we did! And I am so thankful that we get to do that in our church family.
    So, may our God give you wisdom Bridge Builder Guy!!

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