GOD’s Love Builds Bridges; People Blow Them Up
Creator. Our sinful acts and lifestyles are and will always be the things that GOD will not approve. Knowing these facts about our choices, He still reaches out and calls us to become closer to Him.
It is His desire that NOT ONE of His creations should perish (absent from Him) but have Eternal Life that is found in His Only Begotten Son—Jesus. Although our lifestyle and choices leave us distant from His Holiness, it should not derail a true believer from fostering communication and forging something Biblical with another person who struggles with sin, as we do, but in a differing manner.
Scripture makes it clear that any sin is displeasing to GOD, whether committed by an unbeliever or a believer.
Here is a warning from GOD’s Word, “…to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” –James 4:17
When a person chooses to submit to, follow and obey the One true GOD, he or she will have to learn to love people, and likewise seek to be loveable. This means that even a truly dedicated believer can fall into sinful acts and lifestyles that GOD will not approve of. Such patterns can hinder spiritual growth and hinder the work of communicating GOD’s Truth and Love.
FACT— Worshiping anything or anyone instead of GOD –Exodus 20:3–4
FACT — Committing sexual acts outside biblical marriage –1 Corinthians 6:18
FACT — Pride is based on self-reliance over dependence on GOD –Proverbs 16:18
FACT — When we have insatiable desire for wealth or possessions –1 Timothy 6:10
FACT — Speaking falsehoods or misleading others –Proverbs 12:22
FACT — Harboring ill will toward others –Matthew 5:22
Even grievous sins like adultery, drunkenness, homosexuality, or child abuse are possible in the life of ‘believers’, but the key difference is attitude. The believer hates their sin and seeks to avoid it, while the unbeliever loves it.
All of that begs the question to be asked… How do I stay focused on Biblical things and learn to communicate and reach outward and upward to the hurting in numerous sectors?
GOD-honoring communication is the believer’s response to any and everyone. Other actions that follow are repentance, transformation, and a life that reflects the character of Christ. Our words and actions must become instruments of GOD’s Truth, mercy and graceful responses.
Healthy relationships thrive not because there’s no conflict, but because disagreements are met with care, respect, and a shared commitment to finding common ground. When a dispute starts to feel like a declaration of anger or a refusal to compromise, it’s often a sign that the conversation has shifted from problem-solving to emotional reactivity.
Bridges MUST be built if we want to create what GOD wants for His creation and followers…oneness and love.
One of the most important truths about covenant relationships, and honestly, about any community that wants to reflect GOD’s compassion.
What am I attempting to say? What has GOD always said? Maybe not so much in these words, but in these words… Conflict isn’t the enemy, disconnection is.
Healthy relationships stay whole because both people keep building bridges even when emotions rise.
Minor (and major) differences can spiral into major arguments when communication breaks down. There will always seem to be misinterpretations. When they show up, defensiveness takes over. Many years ago, I wrote a quick piece to some couples we were hanging around. It was about “triggers.” What are triggers? You know what yours are. I am SURE of it. They may come packaged in pressured boxes that are filled with nails, spikes and red paint, that when opened, all the emotional stimulants are activated. You know…, past hurts, insecurities, or stressors. All of these can and eventually will amplify the reaction.
Those were internal activators. We have not mentioned a few of the most notorious ones from the outside. Let us call them, “external” stressors (work, finances and family).
Yeah… Those are buggers.
Even in healthy relationships, disagreements are natural, but they don’t have to be destructive. Can you agree with that? Listening is a HUGE deal! By pausing, listening, and focusing on mutual objectives, you can keep the conversation constructive and preserve the relationship’s emotional safety. THIS is a GOOD thing to do.
In every generation, people have wrestled with the same reality of truth, that relationships do not thrive because conflict is absent, but because love refuses to let conflict become a border between them.
Scripture never promises a life without disagreements. Instead, it reveals the character of the GOD Who steps into the human tension and teaches His people how to build bridges where others build barriers. See Luke 6:36–38.
Looking back at the opening pages of Genesis, GOD is pictured as the One Who crosses the distance. When Adam and Eve hid, GOD walked toward them. When Cain became angry, GOD spoke to him gently. When Israel strayed, the Loving GOD sent prophets not to condemn but to call them home.
NOTE: The entire Biblical Narrative is the saga of the LORD GOD refusing to allow separation between He and His creation to have the final word. Nope. He endeavored to fix it. I WOULD be a costly price, and there was to be some “skin in the game.”
In Hebraic thought, this undertaking to reconnect with those who walked/ran away from Him is captured in the idea of shalom. Shalom, however, is not merely peace, but wholeness restored after fracture.
Shalom is what happens when broken things are mended, when estranged hearts return, when people choose covenant over convenience.
Conflict, then, is not the enemy. …disconnection is. Are you able to see that? It is tough when you are angry, distant and hurt, but your friend, your spouse and Yeshua are NOT the enemy. It would be the sin, the selfishness and even pride that caused the divide.
A difference becomes dangerous the moment it shifts from “we’re solving a problem” to “you’re a threat to me.” This is the moment when the heart begins to harden. It is not usually out of wickedness, but out of fear. Quarreling will eventually create the gap between parties of love.
The prophets describe this as a “stiff neck.” Yep. This is another one of those pesky Hebrew idiomatic meanings. It depicts when a person is unable to turn (return) toward another. Not unwilling — unable (or incapable).
When anger becomes a declaration instead of an emotion, when refusal to compromise becomes a stance instead of an instant, the conversation has left the land of wisdom and entered the realm of reactivity.
Consider the difference between reaction versus response.
NOTE: The word of ADONAI ALWAYS offers a better way.
Once again, let us harken back to Genesis. GOD’s Way is repair, not retreat. We make it easy to leave. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” not the peacekeepers. It would be those people who avoid conflict. What about the peace-lovers who pretend everything is fine?
“Peacemakers” are bridge builders. They do what GOD does. What would that be? Take a look at these. Are these what you do?
They move toward the tension with gentleness.
They speak truth without weaponizing it.
They protect connection even when emotions rise.
Paul echoes this when he writes, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people.”
NOTE: This is not passivity. This is Covenantal courage. It is the courage to say, “I will not let this moment define us. I will not let this disagreement become a divorce of hearts. I will not let anger become our language.” Can you agree with that?
Whether someone is Biblically reliable or not, whether they come from Scripture or from skepticism, whether they speak Hebrew, English, Greek or the language of wounds — this truth will somehow reach them.
We are made for connection. We are healed through repair. We are strengthened by unity. We are transformed by love. Conflict is inevitable. But oneness is a choice. A holy choice. A human choice. A healing choice. …GOD’s choice!
And every time we choose to build a bridge instead of a wall, we participate in the very work GOD has been doing since the beginning. It is the very work of bringing His creation back into harmony, wholeness, and love.