A Story about Stones, Walls, and Bridges 4

   Continued from "A Story about Stones, Walls, and Bridges 3” (link here).

   You sit down after your hard work disassembling your last bridge. You are exhausted from trying to reach others; and building and breaking bridges. In the beginning of your mission you may not have let anything dissuade you; because you had such success reaching others. But, after your last two failures you are wondering if it is all worth it. Why should you get hurt for no reason?

You are feeling so defeated. Then you remember you haven’t prayed for a while. So you pray that God would help you through this difficult time.

   Suddenly you look up and see a man in white. He walks over to you. Out of habit you grab a stone because you don’t want to get hurt again. The man sits down. He is silent for a little and you wonder why he is here, and why he isn’t saying anything. He looks at your head and you remember it is still bleeding from getting hit by a stone. He brings out a bowl of water and a cloth. He dips the cloth in water and begins cleaning your wound. The water drips down your face; it feels cool and clean. You reach up to your head and realize your wound is healed.

   The man finishes cleaning your wounds. Then he asks you how your week has gone. Normally you would just say fine, since this man is a total stranger, but for some reason you feel like you know this man. So you tell him about the girl and the man. Then you tell him why you were trying to help them.

   He is quiet for a moment then says that it is good you are trying to minister to others; but it is not your job to fix all the problems in the world. The only one who can fix things that seem like problems is God. And that not everyone will be reached at the same time, in the same way, or by the same person. He says you won’t be able to reach everyone you talk to because they may not be ready or the Holy Spirit has yet to call them.

   You understand what he is saying but you ask him what you should do if someone does not want your help. Should you still minister to them? The man says that ministry can be done in many different ways. In fact, many times people just need a friend or someone to care for them. So, one of the best ways to minister to someone is to be there for them; and pray for them continually that she will come to Christ. And, maybe someday that person may come to Christ because of your prayers, friendship, or example.

   What the man says makes sense. But there’s one thing that you still have a question about. You ask him why your shield failed to protect you at one point. The man says it is because you took your eyes off him. Suddenly you realize this man is Jesus. You fall on your face knowing you are not worthy. He lifts you up and says your sins are forgiven. He then says that when you started out your relationship with him you had a lot of faith. But, when trials came you forgot to have faith. You focused too much on the rocks or problems of life rather than trusting that he had a plan for you.

   You feel so ashamed but you still have one burning question. You ask him why he never came to you before. He said he is always with you even if you don’t see him. He was with you when people threw rocks at you, when you built your wall, and when you began to build bridges to others. You may not see him physically but sometimes you may see him in small miracles, in people, or events. He is always with you.

   So, that concludes my “A Story about Stones, Walls, and Bridges” saga. I purposefully did not tell you some answers or interpretations till now because sometimes life does feel hopeless.  I’m pretty sure you felt sorry or hopeless when you were reading about the girl who cuts herself. But, the good news is that no matter how hopeless life may seem we have a friend who is with us always: Jesus.

   So are you feeling defeated at all? What can you do to regain hope and faith? If you were the main character in this story what would you do after your meeting with Christ? Would you continue to minister to others or give up because it is too hard?

   Matthew 5:16, John 14:16-17, Ephesians 6:10