1 Corinthians 3:12-15
For my daughter (Paisley) one of her favorite games to play with dad is building things. We both take turns stacking block on top of block to see how tall we can build our tower. But for her (a 2-year-old) she just wants to build, she doesn't think of the foundation that holds all the weight. As we build, I constantly check the foundation to make sure it remains sturdy enough to keep going. As we grow taller and taller the tower begins to get unstable and eventually falls and we shield ourselves for impact as blocks fall everywhere.
As silly as the tower example may be, we find Paul warning the church in Corinth in chapter 3 that they must have a good foundation, a foundation that is built on Christ and not “cheap materials.” Verses 12-13 tell us: “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.”
We may know Christ is our foundation. However, we too can act like the Corinthians. It's easy to begin to think that our foundation is built upon things we have done when life is going great. Paul warns that even those who are saved will come to a point where their foundation will be revealed. We see in verses 14-15: “If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
We must understand as believers that every day is a building day, we must constantly check our foundation and make sure our foundation is based on Christ and not other things. Cheap materials may allow us to build quicker, but they won't survive the fire. A life built on Christ with faithfulness and love may require more sacrifice now, but it produces something that lasts forever.
Let us do the hard work of fighting the flesh and build our lives on the foundation of the one who gives us purpose!
As silly as the tower example may be, we find Paul warning the church in Corinth in chapter 3 that they must have a good foundation, a foundation that is built on Christ and not “cheap materials.” Verses 12-13 tell us: “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.”
We may know Christ is our foundation. However, we too can act like the Corinthians. It's easy to begin to think that our foundation is built upon things we have done when life is going great. Paul warns that even those who are saved will come to a point where their foundation will be revealed. We see in verses 14-15: “If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
We must understand as believers that every day is a building day, we must constantly check our foundation and make sure our foundation is based on Christ and not other things. Cheap materials may allow us to build quicker, but they won't survive the fire. A life built on Christ with faithfulness and love may require more sacrifice now, but it produces something that lasts forever.
Let us do the hard work of fighting the flesh and build our lives on the foundation of the one who gives us purpose!
Posted in Devotional