The Pastor’s Blog – THE BRIDGE BETWEEN US

A pastor is writing a blog about a bridge: where does your mind go? I suspect many anticipate this will be about Jesus as the bridge between sinful humanity and a holy God. That would be a great blog, but I am drawn to another important truth that the bridge reminds us of. Reconciliation.

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 we see Jesus reconciling us to God (the bridge) and we hear our call to a ministry of reconciliation (the bridge).

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

What does it mean when God says we have a ministry of reconciliation?

First, it means we have the privilege and duty to tell others about the salvation that can be found in Christ alone, which opens the door to eternal life for all who believe. Paul would go on to call us “Christ’s ambassadors” (v. 20). Like God Himself, we desire that every person crosses that bridge from death to life through faith in Jesus.

Secondly, since the heart of the gospel is receiving and sharing God’s love, we should be involved in helping people restore broken relationships with each other. Christians should be the ones building the bridges that are needed so much today: between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, between the mask supporters and mask rejecters, between convoy supporters and convoy enemies… I think you get my drift – COVID has been used to polarize people into camps, often unable to talk to each other. Even families have been divided. I have heard terrible things said from all camps about the other camp, things that would never please God.

We are Christians. We are bridge builders. We bring people together despite their differences of opinion. We find our common ground, which is the bridge – Jesus!

– Pastor Gary

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