The Bridge Builder
Theme: Peacemaking and Reconciliation
Two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into a bitter conflict. It was the first serious rift in forty years of farming side by side. A small misunderstanding grew into a major difference, and finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.
One morning, a carpenter knocked on the older brother's door, looking for work. The older brother pointed to the creek dividing his farm from his brother's. "See that creek? My brother dug a channel from the river just to spite me. I want you to build an eight-foot-tall wooden fence so I never have to see his face or his property again."
The older brother went into town for the day, leaving the carpenter to his work.
When the farmer returned at sunset, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. Instead, the carpenter had built a magnificent, sturdy wooden bridge stretching across the creek.
As the older brother stood in shock, his younger brother walked across the bridge with tears in his eyes, his arms wide open. "You are quite a man to build a bridge after all I've said and done," the younger brother wept as they embraced.
The older brother turned to the carpenter and said, "Please, stay. I have more work for you." "I'd love to," the carpenter smiled gently, "but I have many more bridges to build."
Reflection
When pride and anger take over, our first instinct is to build walls and fences to isolate those who hurt us. But Christ is the ultimate Carpenter. He calls us to be peacemakers. Forgiving someone requires the humility to lay down a plank of reconciliation across the bitter waters of our disputes. Build bridges, not fences.