Do Work (Construction)

1 Corinthians 3:10-23 speaks of "foundations" and how to build on them. I did a biblegateway.com search for the word "foundations" and these are some interesting different types of foundations I discovered:

"Costly foundations": Joshua cursed the land Jericho was built on, saying that anyone to rebuild its 'foundations' would lose his firstborn. And it came to pass- 1 Kings 16:34.

"Earth's foundations": they are the Lord's: 1 Samuel 2:8.

"Weak Foundations": they are easily destroyed: Job 4:19, 22:16.

The more important ones, though, were very revealing:

The wise builder builds his foundation on rock- Luke 6:46-49.

The foundation of God's throne is "righteousness and justice"- Psalm 89:14, 97:2.

The way to lay a "firm foundation" is "to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." Living like this will allow you to "take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:18-19.

So what is there to learn from all of this? Paul was writing to the people of Corinth and challenging them on what they were building their foundations. He first of all clarifies "no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (3:11) He then goes on to talk about those that use "wood, hay, and straw" on top of their foundations, much like the foolish builder Jesus mentioned. Whatever we build on top of the foundation of Jesus Christ will go through a "trial by fire" on the Day. "...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." (13b)

Paul goes on to talk about how we are "God's temples" and if we destroy our temple, God will destroy us. Also, the wisdom "by the standards of this age" is mentioned in the later verses. How many people today try to become so street and/or book smart and consider this to be a 'firm foundation'? Too many.

The good news, though, is that there will be things that survive the fire test! "If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward." (14) So it's not all bad... there are good things we can build on top of Jesus Christ! What are those good things? According to the Bible: "righteousness", "justice", and being "generous and willing to share". These are things that will survive the trial by fire, because they are what Jesus did on earth.

Just reading this passage caused me to ask myself: what am I building on top of the firm foundation of Jesus Christ? While I seek to live righteously and do justice as the Lord commands and while I seek to be generous with the what the Lord provides, I think the things that will stand the test of fire in my life most are the people I'm discipling. In discipling these young men, I'm making an investment in their lives that will go beyond just my time with them. All the glory be to God! To have the privilege of living out Jesus' command "go and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19) is phenomenal- it is SUCH a blessing! I am not only aiding (in the Lord's strength) in the development of brothers in Christ but also developing myself, for there are few things more challenging than discipleship. When Jesus ascended into heaven, what remained? His disciples. Through the people He invested in, His words, teachings, and principles remained.

So the question of this blog is: what are you building on top of the foundation of Jesus? Will it burn, or remain?