1halffull's Blog

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.   ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

Fences.

Not long after we first moved to this house, we got new neighbors at our backs.  One of the first things they did once the snow melted, was build a fence around their back yard.  Not the three foot kind that invites over-the-fence conversation, but the six foot kind of fence that screams ‘stay out’ on one side and ‘stay in’ on the other.

Their reason for building it was to provide a safe place for their kids and the dog to play.  That fence did a great job; the children and dog were safe the entire time they lived there except when the boy fell from the swingset and broke an arm.  I guess fences can’t protect us from everything, can they?

The fence also did something else:  it put up a wall against potential relationships between these people and their neighbors.  Personally, I don’t see that as a plus.

The next people who owned the house took the fence down immediately.  It’s been easy to get to know them.  There are no barriers.

There have been a lot of fences/walls put up through history.  One of the most famous is  The Berlin Wall. 

~ photo borrowed from Flikr

The Berlin Wall solidified the division between East and West Berlin, as the ruling communist government sought to protect East Berlin from the ‘capitalist dogs’.  Construction of the actual wall started under darkness, while Berliners slept during the night of August 16, 1961.  Imagine the shock of the citizens the next morning as they saw the beginnings of this ugly reminder of unwanted bondage!

Suddenly families, friends and neighbors found themselves utterly separated. One half lived in freedom, the other lived in total bondage – separated by only about a six inch band of 11’6″ high fence that snaked through the cities out into the countryside. 

Even though they were ‘free’, the West Berliners could not cross into East Berlin.  There were 302 watch towers along the 96 miles of the Berlin Wall.  Twenty-three miles of it went through residential areas.    For all kinds of reasons, five thousand people made it safely to freedom over the wall; 192 people were killed trying to cross over it between its inception in 1961 and its demise in 1989.  Another 200 were injured by shooting while trying to breach the wall to get to the freedom on the other side.

On the whole, no real good seems to have come to the builders of this fence/wall.  Ultimately, Communism and the Cold War ended.  The border was reopened on November 9, 1989 and the wall/fence fully destructed by the end of 1990. 

So much for fences.

Bridges.

A bridge, by definition, is a link or connection between two permanent structures.

There are many types of physical bridges.  There are intricate and simple truss bridges; abuttment bridges; draw bridges; rigid frame, fixed arch and cantilever bridges to name a few.   Probaby everyone of us crosses a bridge of some sort every single day by driving over a river, a freeway, a street, a deep gully.  Sometimes, we even cross one as we enter the threshold of a new home, a new family, a new church.

Bridges are open pathways between two points.  They encourage connection.  Sometimes they lift their ‘arms’ to let something larger go through.  They protect the regular traffic from getting hurt by doing so. 

photo borrowed from 'Something Wicked This Way Blogs'

Bridges are often beautiful in their construction and we know them by name:  The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA); The George Washington Bridge (NY,NY); The Chesapeake Bay Bridge  in Maryland; The Zakim Bridge in Boston.  Unless you’re hauling something illegal, or the bridge is under construction, you will always find an open way to get from one side to the other.  

Sometimes, however, there is a cost involved as there is for each one of these bridges.  It’s up to you to decide in advance whether you are willing to bear the cost.  

Along with physical bridges, there are also relational bridges.  These are the pathways that we use to form relationships with one another. 

Relationships are formed through meetings of minds and hearts.   Sometimes they are initiated through birth rights; others are begun in a coffee shop, in the workplace, on the street, at a place of worship.  When people diligently work on these relationships they often blossom and grow. 

Sometimes, however, someone takes advantage of their relationship with others and uses it to try to remove their freedom of  choice.  Often, it’s initiated quietly, stealthily, behind the scenes.  No one even recognizes it’s happening.  Suddenly all the decisions are being made by one person.  No one is paying any attention, and they just go along.  They have no idea who they’re following nor where that person is leading them.    

There are those who even purpose to build fences that are invisible to all but themselves.  They say they’re doing it to protect the group or other persons; more often than not, they’re trying to build a fence so that they can control those within its boundaries.  This can lead to a terrible end.

Jim Jones was one of these controllers who put up a very large fence.  Those who innocently followed him into the middle of it, drank Kool Aid that led to their death.  Following the wrong people can cost you more than you were ever willing to spend.

The best bridge I ever saw looks like this:

I really love it.  It’s shaped like no other and it leads us from a life that points only to the abyss of the grave to a life of eternity with God. 

Initially, we are all together on the same side of the chasm that this bridge crosses – lost in our own devices. 

The great thing about this bridge is that we are free to cross to the other side at any time.  The person who built the bridge, Jesus, is waiting there to take you across.  You only need to accept Him as your Savior and commit your life to Him.  Once you cross this bridge, with Jesus in your heart, you leave your old life behind for a new life where Christ walks with you through every circumstance.  No more guilt, no more shame, just freedom to become all that God always intended for you to become.

Jesus built this bridge with the sacrifice of His own life, freely given, so that you might freely receive.  Every person can cross when you choose to believe in Him and the work that was done for you on that Cross 2,000 years ago.   There’s no fence keeping you out….just the Cross of Christ inviting you in.

I’m so thankful that Jesus was about building bridges and not fences.  If you’re in a place that’s all fenced in, seek Jesus.  He will lead you out, across the bridge, to new life in Him.

In this world, loss is never ending

There is so much that should have been.

The only hope we have

Is that we’ll see you yet again

When Jordan’s shores we cross

To the reunion that never ends.

Still missing you, Dad, even after 30 years.

            In loving memory

            Robert ‘Red’ Page

        8/11/1920 ~ 7/1/1981