In the early years of Christianity—from the 2nd Century all the way into the medieval times, some Christians thought that life in the “normal” world somehow kept them from having a close relationship with God. Men and women, who wanted to be closer to God, would forsake the ordinary world—owning and managing property, marrying, raising children, and the like—and they would devote themselves to “more” spiritual things, like praying and mediating and doing good works. These people were called monks and nuns.
Society of the time actually believed that these people did the spiritual work of the community and everybody else did the earthly work. So, for example, if you needed a prayer said, you could pay a monk to pray it. But if you needed some meat to eat, you paid a butcher to cut it.
We modern people don’t think this way anymore, but sometimes we still fall into the trap of separating, too much, the work we do for the Lord and His church and the work we do in our personal, every day lives. We might act as if the service project or mission trip we go on and work we do there, is just a one-time kind of work, totally unrelated to our daily lives—going to school, playing sports, working a part-time job. We might think that talking about Jesus or reading our bibles is a church-time activity not appropriate for other contexts.
But hear these words from Scripture:
“In your hearts honor Christ, the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:15)
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for me, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
“You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)
“Since all things are to one day be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be today in lives of holiness and godliness.” (2 Peter 3:11)
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
Notice all these passages imply that what we do for the Lord is part-and-parcel with what we do in our everyday lives. It’s not just something reserved for church time. And notice how in that that last verse, it talks about being a “royal priesthood.” The Latin word for priest is pontifex which means “bridge builder.” And that is exactly what we are!
In the Old Testament, a priest was the one who was the go-between in the relationship between God and His people. Like a bridge connecting one river bank to the other, the priests bridged the relationship between God and sinful man. The priests offered all the sacrifices and said all the right prayers for the people. Today there is no need for sacrifices. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, but we are still sort of like priests.
Christians are bridge builders. No matter what our job is and no matter where we work, we are always serving as His bridge builders. We help connect people to the Lord. We do this every day and everywhere we go. We do this by sometimes telling others about our faith and our church. We do this through the loving and kind ways that we help others. We do this in the way that we seek to live godly lives, faithful to His Word. We do this by inviting others to church. We do this at every level of life. Sometimes without even knowing it.
Sometimes we refer to this as vocation. “Vocation” means all that various rolls that we fill in life that include being a student, employee, friend, etc. God gives us lots of opportunity to be bridge builders through these various rolls because through these rolls we interact with lots of different people who need to be connected to the Lord. It means that no relationship or situation we find ourselves in in life is random or without purpose. God has a purpose in everything and everyday and every context that we find ourselves in. We don’t have to become a monk or a nun to serve the Lord. We can do it all the time be being a bridge builder. You serve as His priest toward others, helping them to know Jesus.
Questions:
Think of a relationship or connection you have with someone that you’ve never even thought about as being someone who you could help connect to Jesus. An example might be a friend in school, coworker, or a friend.
What are some ways that you could build a bridge to Jesus for that person?
How does your impatience, your schedule, your busyness, or your attitude sometimes get in the way of building that bridge?
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I thank You that You love me more than I can know or understand. I thank You that Your love built a bridge for me, through Your death and resurrection, to heaven and my eternal home. Please help me to be a bridge builder, too. Let Your love for me work in me to build bridges between my friends and acquaintances. Help me to be mindful how I use my words and my behavior so that I bring peace not division, love not discord, joy and not frustration. Make me more mindful of how I use my time and my words to glorify You. In Your precious name. Amen.
O Lord, open my lips... 