A Story about Stones, Walls, and Bridges

   Imagine you are going about your business one day. You are walking down a street. Suddenly a stone is thrown at you. You look over at the person who threw it at you but they just continue walking. There is absolutely no guilt on their face. Another stone is thrown at you. You see a person laughing as they walk away. You think to yourself that you need to run away from these people; but suddenly the ground cracks and you only have a four foot square left to stand on. Then you look around and see that everyone else has a four foot square and some rocks with them. People continue throwing stones at one another. You start to wonder why people would throw stones at you when, all of the sudden, another stone is thrown at you, and another, and another.  Your face is bleeding, you have huge bruises on your body, and your body crumbles into a ball as you fall to the ground. You begin to think what you did wrong to make people throw stones at you. Your body is hurting so bad and the stones continue to come.

   Finally, the stones stop for a little as it gets darker. You look up and see that there are stones all around you. People continue walking by you, a few show concern but they keep walking. Your wounds start to heal a little; and then you see someone walk by with another stone in their hand. You realize that you need to make something so that you will not get hurt again. So, you pick up the stones that were thrown at you and begin to make a wall around you.

   The next day people start throwing stones at you again. But, this time, the stones don’t get through because of the wall. You begin to feel good about yourself because you know you are safe in your wall. You begin to think about the people outside your wall throwing stones at you. You get so angry at the people for throwing stones at you that you start throwing some back. Every time you hit someone you feel a little better; but, at the same time, you realize that you should not be hurting them. And, that you are just giving them ammo to throw back at you. So, you stop throwing stones because it doesn’t make you feel any better.

   After a while you become comfortable in your wall. Every once in a while you hear a stone hit your wall; but it just bounces off so you just sit there. Then you start to get bored in your wall. You realize that people cannot see the real you behind your wall; and you also want to see what is going on outside your wall. So, you take a peek over your wall. You see people throwing stones at one another. There is a crack to your left. You look over and see that someone got hit in the head. She is bleeding badly. Part of you wants to help; but you know if you go outside your wall you could get hit with more stones. The girl gets hit with another stone. You decide that it doesn’t matter what happens to you, you have to help that girl. But, there is no way to get to her.

   Suddenly, you get an idea. You could build a bridge to get to her; but you do not have enough stones. The only way you can build a bridge is if you break your wall. The girl gets hit again. You quickly begin disassembling your wall and start building a bridge over to the girl. When you get to the girl you ask her if she is okay. Then you tear off your sleeve so that you can stop the bleeding. People keep throwing rocks over toward the girl. You know that you may get hurt; but you don’t want the girl to get hurt more. So, you block the stones from hitting her. Eventually the girl’s wounds heal. You are a little cut up from getting hit; but the thankful look you see on the girl’s face makes it all worth it.

   So, why did I tell you all this? It’s because this story is a metaphor. The people represent people in real life. The reason the ground breaks is because we live in a very individualistic society, where it is every man for himself. And the stones represent problems, things said about you, and things done to you. Every day we are hit with stones. It is what we do with those stones that matters.

   Sometimes people get hit with problems and they decide to go further into themselves. They build walls so that people cannot hurt them. This may make them feel a little better because they cannot get hurt anymore; but it is also very lonely when you are surrounded by a wall. That’s why people tend to peek outside of their wall; but still stay in the wall.

   Eventually people can realize that when they live inside a wall it does not help them impact others at all. And, they cannot show love to others like God tells us to do. So, people break down their walls in order to show God’s love to others. When that happens we need to build bridges to others. Those people may have walls of their own. Or, they may not want to admit they need help. That’s why we need to create bridges, or relationships with others. We need to be willing to show our weaknesses so that we connect with people. We also need to realize that sometimes when we build bridges to others we may get hit with stones; and get hurt. That is why we need to lean on God and trust Him. He will never lead us astray; and he will always be with us.

   So, what are you doing with your stones? Are you throwing them back at others just to have them thrown back at you? Are you building a wall so that others cannot hurt you? Are you building a bridge so that you can show God’s love to others? Are you willing to show your weaknesses so that God’s glory can shine through your story?

   John 15:13, Ephesians 4:29, Philippians 2:3