Building Bridges to Transformation

[HKHaugan]

In the last segment we used The Christmas Carol as an example of the work of the Holy Spirit getting Ebenezer Scrooge to face his past, his present and his possible future. That literary masterpiece is a picture of transformation, the spiritual mind-quake, heart-quake and spirit-quake shifting the internal to the external, from aloneness to openness with others and a sense of meaning and purpose. Transformation, as we said, is salvation on a treadmill. It is the progressive development of being in Christ more and more each day building strong bridges from the heart to the hearts of others.

I’m neither an engineer nor an architect but when I consider what it must be like to try and build a bridge the task must seem daunting. You have to evaluate the terrain, the connecting points, the depth of the valley and river, the amount of materials and their integrity, the labor force needed and the costs involved. Then the quality of the people to lead the project and the general human factors that have to be balanced to establish an atmosphere where everyone feels they are a part of something that each can be proud of.

Jacksonville Florida’s growth was predicated on the building of bridges that crossed the St. John’s River. What was called the “Old Bridge (Acosta)” and the “New Bridge (Main St.)” opened up the entire Southside to development. Then came the Mathews Bridge. The Arlington section which had been just a single light crossroads in the piney woods expanded almost overnight. After that several more bridges. Now catch my drift here. Bridge-building ’transformed’ the city of Jacksonville from a village to a city in a few decades. In 1950 it held a population of 120,000. Today there are over a million.

The reason I use the idea of actual bridge-building is because it’s really a whole lot simpler to build a bridge to another person than it is a material bridge. But the building of a personal heart bridge to another heart has a purpose. It can lead to the transformation of a broken lonely lost and depressed person to become what they were created to be in the first place, an exciting conscious child of God, an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven and a brother or sister in the Body of Christ. That doesn’t mean every lonely person you meet can be transformed with you as the initiator. But it may be the start after which another comes along and, after a series of encounters, a bridge is built.

Think of the people you know that could benefit from a relationship with the Lord. Consider the personal terrain, first where you are and second, where they are. Of what does the expanse between you consist? What am I like? What are the attitudes I have for and against this interpersonal project? What are my fears, conclusions about what and who I am facing? What are the attitudes I discern in the other person?

The connecting points may be common friends, common interests, common pasts and common experiences. There’s always family issues, children and what’s going on with them, schools attended, ethnic background, where you work and where you’re from.

The terrain may be the emotional flavor you pick up as they describe some of those topics. It may also be the goals they have or where they are in life. It may also be the pains and tragedies from the past that linger in their expressions.

All of us have been shaped by what has happened to us in our pasts. Personal listening is the first step to setting the pilings for the bridge. What are they revealing about themselves that you can tie into? Then you step into the depth with spiritual listening, that is, you are consciously placing your heart in the Lord’s hands as you cross the personal divide. You pray as you go. You want to discern the spiritual nature of what you hear. Be open to the Holy Spirit. This may or may not call for a response. Just trust the Spirit. That’s why He’s available. The Holy Spirit is the bridge spanner. Every step you take is a piling the Spirit can use to span the gap. Remember, the goal is their transformation in the Lord.

Psalm 104
24 How many are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

27 All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.