Building Bridges

 

I love bridges. They fascinate me. There are old stone bridges that have been there for centuries, some even thousands of years. How did their builders manage to construct a bridge in challenging places without the tools and machines that we use today?

Sometimes we cross a bridge even without realizing that we are on one. There are a lot of bridges in need of repair on our European motorways. They have to be maintained. Some were even beyond repair and had to be replaced. We are shocked when a bridge collapses. Engineers who construct bridges have to be highly skilled people, considering the risks involved.

A bridge can be an obstruction for other means of transportation. That is why drawbridges are needed in some places so that all traffic can continue unhindered. Bridges need to be built according to the local needs.

Whether they are old bridges built of stone or the newest feats of modern engineering, bridges connect places, and people can cross from one side to the other. We need to trust each other if we want to build a bridge that brings us closer.

We used to cross the Alps on winding roads over the alpine passes. I remember wondering at the sight of the construction of the Brenner Autobahn on one of our stops. Now when thousands of cars cross those bridges, hardly anyone realizes how those bridges were built and how high above the ravines they are driving.

The construction of the Öresund bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden took five years and a lot more in planning. The political considerations had taken much longer. Would it be a good idea? Did the nations want a bridge? Britain resisted the idea of a direct connection to the continent and it took a long time for the Channel tunnel idea to be approved.  After all, neither Napoleon nor Hitler had been able to occupy the island. The Brits did not want a bridge. Now we see news of Ukraine destroying bridges to stop Russian troops from advancing. Bridges are dangerous things at times.

Siegfried Fietz, a Christian songwriter, made an impact in the 1990s with his song, „So bauen wir die Brücke und glauben fest daran. Sie bricht nie mehr in Stücke, wenn alle daran bau’n…“ We are building a bridge and trust that it will not fall apart as long as we all keep building it together. Of course. When we are all working together to achieve a common goal, nothing will be able to stop us. That is such a wonderful idea. But unfortunately, we seldom manage to do things together without disputes. Our world is breaking and falling apart. We have lost our connection to what is good

We need somebody who will build a bridge that will connect us to the source of what is good – God. We often do not realize that this bridge was built a long time ago and it still stands. Built by Jesus Christ, our real Pontifex, the ultimate Bridge Builder, God has established a way to connect his children with eternal bliss. We just have to trust him and take step after step in the right direction.



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