This past week my family and I attended a symposium in San Francisco. While the conference was jam packed with wonderful information, we did get a little free time to explore the city. I was drawn to Fisherman’s Warf. I could not believe that I was standing on a pier and actually looking at the Golden Gate Bridge in person. That was definitely something I could cross off of my bucket list. The other bridge in the harbor was the bridge that connected San Francisco to Oakland. To keep things straight in my family, we called the bridge to Oakland the Silver Gate Bridge.
The final evening event was a dinner cruise around the harbor. Unfortunately, we could not travel to the Golden Gate Bridge due to the thickness of the fog. Instead, we did travel under the “Silver Gate Bridge.” The temperature was very chilly on the boat. It was wonderful to have a respite from the horrible heat in New Mexico. It felt, and looked like a wintry day. This is July. I was not supposed to be wearing a jacket.
As I stood on the ship and looked at the bridge, I began to wonder about how life would have been different for the people living in the area had there been no bridges to connect one land mass to another. Life would have been drastically altered. There would not be a simple jaunt from San Francisco to Oakland.
Bridges do more than connect things. They provide a way to improve our lives.
They offer a chance to have a different view, a different perspective.
Our world is expanded as we are able to cross into other places with different ideas and customs.
It all starts by making the pilgrimage to the other side. We have to take the journey.
Christ is our bridge. Our relationship to God is restored and reconnected because of the love which is shared through the one who saved us from only our limited view of life. Our paradigm shifted dramatically. We connected from our land of selfishness to the land of absolute selflessness. It takes a bridge by which we can cross into the land of God.
From a Pastor's Point of View 