Day 82: Builder's In Christ
Read: 1 Corinthians 3:10 - 15
Ask yourself these questions, Will the work that I have done, will the
work that I strive to do today, the work that I begin anew tomorrow and
throughout the rest of my life endure the lapse of years and the times
of change? Will the work that I so passionately labor at stand up
and endure the rigorous, roughest tests of time itself or at least while
I am still alive and able to strive, seeking to build upon what labor I
have already been able to do? Unless you are going to end up in a Hall
of Fame somewhere, who knows?
This passage from Scripture
reminds me of the story of the three little pigs striving to build a
better house to keep the big bad wolf out of their living rooms. The
first pig builds his house out of straw. The big bad wolf comes along
and huffs and puffs and blows his house down. The second pig believes he
has built a stronger house out of sticks he found lying around in some
forest somewhere. The big bad wolf comes along once again, does his
thing and walla, no more house of sticks. The third pig learns his
lesson very well and builds his house out of mortar and brick. The wolf
comes along overflowing with confidence. A confidence that is short
lived when the bricks don't fall.
Paul admonishes, “Now if
anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, straw — the work of each builder will become visible, for the
Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the
fire will test what sort of work each has done.” (verses 12, 13) Paul
understood very well that gold, silver, and precious stones will endure
while the wood, hay, and straw will quickly burn. "If what has been
built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If
the work is burned, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be
saved, but only as through fire." (14, 15). The pigs surviving their
ordeal with the wolf must now strengthen themselves.
Notice anything in particular about the first group – gold, silver, costly stones – they are works of God:
• They are products of God’s creative acts. These are placed here by
God in creation. I can’t produce them or make them. They are not the
result of growth or some kind of development. They have all endured and
always will continue to endure the test of time.
• These are works of God, works of the Spirit. Only such works of God are lasting.
• This has to do with things spiritual - our new life in Christ, the
new creation. The true eternally enduring foundation established by God
from the first dawn of creation itself.
Let us Pray: Lord
God, Creator of all things, you have established the foundation upon
which creation itself rests. You have established the eternal boundaries
of the universe. By the works of Your hands alone have all things have come into being. You created us in your own perfect image to do the work of building Your kingdom on
earth. Create in us the builders heart, define us, refine us, through
Your sacred fires borne of creation. In Jesus' name Amen.
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Read: 1 Corinthians 3:10 - 15
Ask yourself these questions, Will the work that I have done, will the work that I strive to do today, the work that I begin anew tomorrow and throughout the rest of my life endure the lapse of years and the times of change? Will the work that I so passionately labor at stand up and endure the rigorous, roughest tests of time itself or at least while I am still alive and able to strive, seeking to build upon what labor I have already been able to do? Unless you are going to end up in a Hall of Fame somewhere, who knows?
This passage from Scripture reminds me of the story of the three little pigs striving to build a better house to keep the big bad wolf out of their living rooms. The first pig builds his house out of straw. The big bad wolf comes along and huffs and puffs and blows his house down. The second pig believes he has built a stronger house out of sticks he found lying around in some forest somewhere. The big bad wolf comes along once again, does his thing and walla, no more house of sticks. The third pig learns his lesson very well and builds his house out of mortar and brick. The wolf comes along overflowing with confidence. A confidence that is short lived when the bricks don't fall.
Paul admonishes, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.” (verses 12, 13) Paul understood very well that gold, silver, and precious stones will endure while the wood, hay, and straw will quickly burn. "If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire." (14, 15). The pigs surviving their ordeal with the wolf must now strengthen themselves.
Notice anything in particular about the first group – gold, silver, costly stones – they are works of God:
• They are products of God’s creative acts. These are placed here by God in creation. I can’t produce them or make them. They are not the result of growth or some kind of development. They have all endured and always will continue to endure the test of time.
• These are works of God, works of the Spirit. Only such works of God are lasting.
• This has to do with things spiritual - our new life in Christ, the new creation. The true eternally enduring foundation established by God from the first dawn of creation itself.
Let us Pray: Lord God, Creator of all things, you have established the foundation upon which creation itself rests. You have established the eternal boundaries of the universe. By the works of Your hands alone have all things have come into being. You created us in your own perfect image to do the work of building Your kingdom on earth. Create in us the builders heart, define us, refine us, through Your sacred fires borne of creation. In Jesus' name Amen.
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