As a young child, my daughter had a tentative nature. She did not care for most park playground equipment. She would climb up a step or two but not to the top of the ladders. She preferred slides that allowed her to see her dad or me as she came down. The bridge piece that joined playground sections was especially scary because it swayed and had little holes open to the ground below. I recall encouraging her, “Mommy’s here and I know this bridge is OK for you to be on. I’m right here. You can do this. You’ll even like it when you get to the other section. Look! Over there is new stuff to play with and other kids!”
Still, she was completely content on the side of the bridge she was on. She would occasionally glance over to the other section with curiosity about what was happening. But over and over, she would dismiss the destination because the journey required going over that bridge. Eventually, she crossed that bridge. Why? What changed? She moved across that bridge because she got bored, outgrew the side she was on, and needed a new challenge.
Does your life ever feel like that?
I would say your “spiritual life” but for followers of Jesus, there isn’t any separation between aspects of our lives. Jesus lives in it all.
Do you find yourself bored…hanging out on the same side of a bridge that He is calling you to cross? Are you frozen by the idea of stepping onto a new surface, that may shift a bit under your feet? Have you been sticking to the safe platform of serving in church, and sense God calling you to serve outside those walls?
The moments I have felt most alive, most in tune to the Father, have been in unpredictable circumstances, with only the Holy Spirit to guide. It is exhilarating to be completely dependent on Jesus in a new way. There is nothing like seeing this life as an adventure, where the Father is encouraging us to cross the next bridge, that He will hold our hands as we move forward, that He wants us to expand to a new platform, where we will find more of God’s deeply loved children.
He does that for me. He will do it for you. He wants to do it for the larger Church. But it only happens if individuals rely on Him to move to new places.
Read Acts 2. How would it have felt to be in the room at Pentecost? How was the Church being moved to a new platform? Comment below and share who or what inspires you to take a risk and step onto a new bridge.