The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out.
We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message!
1 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (MSG)
Sometimes in life, we become accomplished wall-builders. When we have been hurt emotionally, we retreat and protect our hearts from anyone who might hurt us further. We build walls around ourselves to keep from experiencing more pain, more rejection. But walls also keep us from experiencing healthy connections and loving relationships that can pour into us and help us grow. And they keep us from sharing our faith and from being positive examples to everyone in our lives.
We are called to be like the Thessalonians—to be examples to other believers. We are called to echo God’s Word with our words, our actions, and our love. The faith of the Thessalonians was so well-known, that Paul didn’t even need to talk about it. Their lives were filled with bridges that connected, invited, and welcomed, not walls that isolated and protected. God didn’t create us to be isolated and hidden in the dark. He created us to reach out, to connect, and to be rays of light that lead to life. Wherever we have built sturdy, protective walls around our hearts, we need to kick those barriers down. We must turn them into bridges that link our lives with others, because God’s Kingdom doesn’t grow when it is kept hidden.
Is your life filled with bridges or walls? If you never open yourself up and take chances on people, getting to know them and learning to trust, you will miss out on meaningful life-long relationships. Relationships with those who have the power to lift you up and encourage you, while you do the same for them. If you block every opportunity with those protective barriers, you’ll never know which future relationships may stay in your heart forever. Before you can “be the message”, you must step outside of your safe zones and build some bridges. Someone on the other end of that next bridge could be the one to speak life and truth into you and pray for you every day. That’s definitely worth the risk. Don’t let fear isolate you. Pick up a hammer, and build some bridges! Then boldly march across each one with your heart wide open!
You are loved!