......about a bridge to nowhere!

     A few years ago, the County was rebuilding a county road that zig-zagged through part of western Gonzales County.
     The road crossed the Guadalupe River a few miles west of Gonzales.  There happened to be an old historic iron truss bridge on that road (that's it in the picture), and the plans were to replace it with a simple modern concrete span.
     Some of the history buffs in the county decided to save the old bridge and bring it to town.  (seems some people in Gonzales---like other small towns---like to save old things!).  So, they got a grant, hired a crew, and spent months preparing a spot for the old bridge to stretch across a small drainage "creek" that meandered through town---and only had water in it when it rained!
     It was in a nice, visible location, along a well traveled artery through town, but it served no other useful purpose.  Our neighbor lady---at the time--immediately dubbed it:  "the bridge to nowhere".

     I was just thinkin'.......about bridges--and churches!

     Robert Lewis, recently wrote a book titled: The Church of Irresistible Influence, and suggests that the church is to be in the business of building bridges into its community.
     I thought about 1Peter 2:9, where we Christians are called to be "royal priests".  And I remembered from some seminary class that the word "priest" in the Latin is the word "Pontif", (and of course we think of the Pope when we hear that word).
     The Latin word pontif actually means "bridge builder", and, for some, the Pope is considered to be the "bridge" between man and God.
     But if we believe that Christ is the bridge between man and God, should we not be the"construction crew" out there spanning the chasm between sinful man and a redeeming God?
     Peter calls us "royal priests", or more exactly--"royal bridge builders"!  So, our churches should be like a construction company with teams of royal bridge builders!
     But, I wonder if some of us---and some of our churches--are just building bridges to nowhere!  We've got Christ in our churches.....we've got most of the "building materials" we need.....we spend a lot of time doing "stuff"----BUT, are we connecting to the lost world?
     Are we just building bridges to nowhere?  Or are we building bridges that are connecting a Lost People to a Living God?

Tommy