Tip of My Iceberg

Two college graduates and an engineering student who has a brilliant mind for putting things together collaborated to build a bridge. Not some simple bridge, but one that took three incredible minds to put together. This was the after-Christmas-dinner activity for wired minds. It’s way past the Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs kind of building. They worked on it for hours.

It’s interesting to consider how often we build bridges in life. Not just the structural ones like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, or the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia. All are mind-blowing structures of engineering feat and fortitude.

We build bridges every time we choose to engage people in a relationship, when we connect the dots to move from one project to another, and when we move forward toward hopefully better goals. New Year’s resolutions are a lot like bridges–they take us from a place where we are to somewhere that’s an improvement.

You’ve got to know how to build a bridge to get from one point to the other.

It’s not easy to build bridges. I watched three young people, all with incredible intelligence, work diligently at constructing a particular bridge. It’s even more challenging to build something that connects an individual well with another person. It takes compassion, focus, interest, and a sense of seeing others as more important than ourselves. When moving from one position to another, such as a New Year’s resolution, one must determine to stay the course, not quit when discouragement raises its ugly head (because it will), and commit to only what you are willing to do.

My intentions are usually greater than my resolve. Following through on a challenge or commitment often trips me up; I get bored or lose interest too easily. In life, that can be problematic. In spiritual issues, it’s critical.

From the time I was a child, I had the idea that I needed to prove myself to God, that I could be good enough to get into His heaven. I think it’s human nature; we believe we’re judged on our merit and performance, because in this world, that’s what happens.

God isn’t limited by our lack. He is fully aware that we’re not capable of satisfying His standard of perfection; one little mistake disqualifies us from eternity with Him. It’s why He chose to bridge the gap between Himself and us by sending His Son to pay a price we can never attempt to pay. Not even on our best days.

God the Father sent His Son, “God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people.” 1 Timothy 2:3-6a. The Bridge to heaven is found in a relationship with Jesus.

With the New Year, people everywhere attempt to make resolutions, most of which don’t last more than a few weeks to a month. Resolutions to eat healthier, exercise, and even attempts at becoming happier. None of these will have lasting consequences, no matter how much we maintain our good intentions.

Jesus is the only true Bridge that can get us from here to eternity. Guaranteed.

And it is an Adventure.