Bridge to Nowhere

Every morning we’re confronted with the amazing symmetry of the Vasco da Gama Bridge, all 17 kilometres of it crossing the River Tejo right by our house. It’s quite a sight especially bathed in early morning sunshine.

And on long summer nights with the window open, you can hear the constant hum of traffic, and the occasional roar of boy racers doing their illegal stuff across the bridge at two or three am. The point is, this bridge is going somewhere. It’s the gateway to the Algarve, to the Alentejo, to Sapin and anywhere else you might care to go. On Friday afternoons and holidays, it’s crammed with traffic getting away from the city.

A huge amount of thought, effort and expense went into the creation of this bridge. And much of that preparation would have included the approach roads on either side that define its usefulness and access to people. And then I see a bridge that lacks that. Solidly constructed yet with no function in terms of connecting people together. On the TV news last night there was a short piece on a motorway bridge over the A4 at Maia, near Porto. They showed a google map image of the bridge and you can see for yourself how its become a laughing stock after 14 years of just sitting there and going nowhere. Something to do with a dispute between the construction company and the landowners. And now its due to be demolished to allow for widening of the motorway.

Sometime churches can be bridges to nowhere. Either they are rooted in community, everyone has easy access, is welcomed on board, but then they find that their church does not actually deliver. It does not actually lead them on to know God, and move onto a road that will lead to a solid spiritual walk with the Lord. Or there are other churches, so well designed and constructed in their theology to deliver anyone on it safely to the other side, but so far removed from everyday life and culture, that few actually make it onto the bridge. Church needs to be rooted in both. Blaze a clear pathway to the other side of life with God, but understand and be rooted in the life and culture of the society it exists for.