Called to Be Bridge Builders: Understanding God’s Heart for Connection

Have you ever felt the frustration of being separated from someone you care about? Perhaps it was a relationship damaged by hurt, a family member who’s drifted away, or a neighbor you’ve never really connected with. What if I told you that God has positioned you specifically to build bridges across those divides?

As I’ve been studying Ephesians, I’ve discovered something profound about God’s character and His plan for us. God isn’t just about repositioning us to be with Him—though that’s certainly part of it. There’s something even more transformative at work.

God: The Ultimate Bridge Builder

“God is a bridge builder,” I realized as I studied Ephesians chapter 3. A bridge connects one area to another area. That’s all it is. It’s simple in concept, though often challenging to build.

In Ephesians 3, Paul begins talking about how he’s been “enslaved” to Christ for the sake of the Gentiles. It’s a fascinating perspective—Paul sees himself not just as free in Christ, but as a willing servant to God’s bridge-building mission.

Then in verse 6, Paul reveals what he calls a “mystery”: “The mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” What is Paul saying here? God built a bridge!

On one side, you had the Jewish nation who had been God’s chosen people from the beginning. They were “called out from an early age,” instructed to “separate yourself” and “keep yourself separate from everyone else.” The laws and rules they were given were about them staying separate from other people.

For thousands of years, that’s how it was—God’s chosen children on one side and everybody else on the other. Even Jesus initially focused His ministry on the Jews, telling His disciples, “Don’t go into the Gentile area. Stay here on this side.”

The Mystery Revealed: A Bridge for Everyone

But then something changed. Peter had his vision of the sheet coming down from heaven, and God told him, “Don’t call anything I’ve created unholy. Don’t call anything I’ve created unworthy.” Paul had his encounter with Christ on the Damascus road.

“Here’s the mystery,” God was saying, “I’m going to connect for the first time ever. I’m going to connect the people of Israel and the Gentiles.” And remember, if you’re not Jewish, you’re a Gentile. “All the peoples of the earth against one nation,” and God decided to build a bridge between them.

You and I are here today because God built that bridge and connected us together. We have no right to that side based on our heritage. “We were not God’s original chosen people per the scriptures,” yet God said, “Now it’s time. I want to build a bridge. I want to connect these people, the Gentiles, with the Israelite nation.”

The Power to Comprehend God’s Love

In Ephesians 3:16, Paul prays “that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being.” This is what God wants for you—to be strengthened with power through His Spirit. Not on your own accord, not under your own abilities, not anything you’ve done, but that you would be strengthened in your inner being.

Why are we weak? Why are we tired? Why do we get frustrated? “It’s because we don’t have strength from the inside that was given by the Spirit of God in us.” If we had God’s strength on the inside, we wouldn’t run out of power. He “doesn’t need Gatorade or electrolytes to get refueled again.” He’s got all the power, and He desires to put that power in us.

When I find a true follower, a true disciple of Christ, there’s nothing that shakes them. “They can go into places they’re not worried about getting sick. They’re not worried about getting shot. They’re not worried about having someone mad at them.” Why? “Because they got all the power they need. They know Christ is in them and they’re listening to God.”

Rooted and Grounded in Love

Paul goes on to say that we should be “rooted and grounded in love.” This is the most powerful foundation. “If I build everything on love, everything else works.” When you put your selfish desires aside and put love as your foundation, it works.

God told Peter and Paul, “I’m going to build a bridge and I’ll base it in love.” When you have love as your foundation, you’re no longer worried about others “messing up your world.” Instead, you think, “Look at what it’s going to do in their world.” You’re not worried about what others might bring; you’re thinking, “I’ve got to introduce them to my Savior whom I love.”

Love becomes the very foundation for everything we do. “Whatever I do, I need to do it in love.”

Making Christ’s Love Our Own

Paul prays that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18-19). He’s asking us “to know the unknowable”—to make the love of Christ our own.

It’s like a recipe that’s been passed down to you. At first, you follow it exactly, but eventually, you make it your own. You understand it so well you no longer need the instructions. Paul says, “Make the love of Christ your own. We can’t add anything to it. We can’t take anything away from it. But it’s about making it our own.”

When everything is falling apart around you, when the storms of life are raging, you can know deep in your heart: “Yes, Jesus loves me.” And if Jesus loves me, I can do anything. If Jesus loves me, I’m going to be all right.

We Are Called to Be Bridge Builders

God has created a bridge for each of us. None of us came to Christ all by ourselves. “God was building a bridge before you even knew anything was going on.” He was talking to people—maybe your mother, father, grandmother, a youth leader, or someone else—saying, “I need to build a bridge for this person because they’re on the outside. I want them to come to me. Would you help me?”

Someone loved you, encouraged you, and at some point, you looked up and said, “Hey, there’s a bridge here. Maybe I’ll cross it.”

Now it’s our turn. “Life Church at Eastern, I’m putting you on notice. We need to start building bridges.” If we’re here in unity, if the love of Jesus Christ is in us, “we need to look and go, there is somebody on the other side that I need to build a bridge for.”

Building Bridges to the Unlikely

This isn’t always comfortable. “There are people that have hurt you badly and you might be the only person they’ll join across that bridge.” We don’t like that, do we?

“I believe God is calling some of you right now to get out of your way and to go, ‘I need to go build the bridge for the person I hate the most. The person that hurt me the most. The person I don’t think deserves it.'”

That was exactly Paul and Peter’s situation. They could have said, “God, they don’t deserve it. They punished us. You want me to go to those Romans? Have you seen what the Romans have done to us?” But God says, “Go get them. Go build a bridge for them.”

Life Application: Taking Up the Hammer

We often wonder why we’re not seeing more people come to Christ. We pray, “God, why don’t you do something with my kids? God, why don’t you do something with my neighbor?” And He’s saying, “I’ve done something. I’ve given you all the power you need to build a bridge. Would you go love somebody?”

Jesus didn’t say to pray for the harvest—He said the harvest is plentiful. “Pray for the bridge builders. Pray for the workers. The laborers are few.”

Here are some practical ways to be a bridge builder:

Identify Your Bridge: Who has God placed in your life that needs a connection to Him? Write down those names and pray specifically for opportunities.
Take the First Step: Maybe it means asking for forgiveness, even if you don’t think you did anything wrong. Say, “I love you. I’m willing to pour my life out.”
Remove Barriers: “Maybe it’s time to chop down that tree that’s been blocking that fence that’s been blocking you from your neighbors… Maybe it’s time for you to get out of your own little space.”
Rely on God’s Power: Remember, you “have all the power that you need” through Christ. You’re not building bridges in your own strength.
Build on Love: Make sure love is your foundation. Not strategy, not obligation, but genuine love for others.

The church should function as a family. Jesus said, “They will know you by your love for one another.” Are you doing your part in this family? Are you “the one that’s going to be there invested because I know how much they need me”?

In these last days, we must become a greater family, unified in purpose. There are many people wanting to get here, but “nobody’s building a bridge for them. Nobody’s inviting them. Nobody’s loving on them.”

You are the bridge builders. Not just the pastors—you. “You’ve got to build a bridge. But you cannot build a bridge unless you’re positioned with Christ and you hear him say, ‘Go build that bridge. Go reach out to that person. Go love on that person.'”

It starts here. Are you willing to pick up your hammer and start building?