We
all know people who give the biggest part of their lives
building something. Some will build a successful business while
some will work all their lives on a failing one. Some will
build a loving, tender, God-honoring family while some will
build a family chained in pain. Some will build a kind and
generous reputation and some will build walls of hostility and
anger. I guess the truth is that we are building something.
Some work all their lives building things that will not
survive. And still, some of us are working on building
something that will last forever.
I have known congregations who set their
hearts on building a church. Many do well and build up churches
that are deeply committed to Jesus, each other, and service to
their communities. And still some congregations have built
churches that are locked in struggles. Most of those churches
die!
Can you imagine how discouraging and
frustrating it would be to invest your life into a project of
that magnitude only to find that it has all been for nothing?
Paul said that that could happen to any one
of us: “… no one can lay any foundation other than the one
already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this
foundation … his 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 man’s work. If what he
has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned
up, he will suffer loss…” I Corinthians 3:11-15.
