LOVE BUILDS BRIDGES
The world is full of lines drawn deep in the dirt. Labels are assigned quickly, sides are chosen fiercely, and suspicion travels faster than understanding. In such a climate, love feels almost impractical. And yet, love is precisely the tool God has always used to cross the widest divides. Where arguments harden hearts, love opens a way through.
The Word of God reminds us that love is not weak sentiment; it is active, durable strength. Love is patient and kind; it does not envy or boast; it does not puff itself up. It does not behave harshly, does not insist on its own way, is not easily provoked, and does not keep a running record of wrongs. Love rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This kind of love does not burn bridges; it builds them plank by plank, often at great personal cost.
Jesus showed us what this looks like in real life. He did not love people after they agreed with Him; He loved them while they were still confused, broken, and resistant. He spoke with Samaritans, touched lepers, welcomed sinners, and prayed for enemies who nailed Him to a cross (Luke 23:34). Love moved Him toward people others avoided. Grace carried Him across boundaries others refused to cross.
Paul understood this as well. Writing to believers surrounded by division, he urged them to let love be the defining mark of their faith. Let everything you do be done with love (1 Corinthians 16:14). Not some things. Not convenient things. Everything. Love, for Paul, was not an accessory to truth; it was the way truth traveled safely into another heart.
Love builds bridges because it listens before it speaks. It seeks understanding before winning. It values people more than positions. The Word of God teaches that gentle words turn away anger, while harsh words stir it up (Proverbs 15:1). Love chooses the gentler path, not because it lacks conviction, but because it trusts God to work through humility.
In a fractured world, the church is called to be a place where bridges still exist. We are ambassadors of reconciliation, carrying a message that God Himself has made a way back to Him through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). If God crossed the greatest distance imaginable to reach us, we can surely cross smaller distances to reach one another.
Love does not mean agreement on everything. It means refusing to give up on one another. It means staying present, staying kind, staying faithful. And in doing so, love quietly accomplishes what force and fury never could. It brings people home.
___________
Lord Jesus, teach us to love as You love. Help us build bridges instead of walls, to speak truth with grace, and to reflect Your heart in a divided world. Use our lives to draw others closer to You. Amen.
BDD
