Will your Foundation last?

I Corinthians 3:10-15

As I read verse ten, it resonates with me for in each of our lives we should desire for God to give us the grace to leave a foundation that is worth someone else building on.  Verse 10; “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” Paul goes on to state in verse 11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”   Now you may be a millionaire and you have acquired a lot of nice stuff, but is the foundation going to stand?  It has little to do with the abundance of things you have, a master builder always first makes sure the foundation will support what is being built on it.

Do you recall this conversation Jesus had with His disciples; “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Jesus is stating that the foundation will be the Spirit of God speaking truth into our lives, and by the faith that He gives we will believe and act on that faith.  The foundation is Jesus Christ. 

So the foundation must be Christ, and as a master builder, one should be very selective about the material being used in our building process.  Verses 12-15, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Jesus gives the example of the man who builds his foundation on the sand, and when the storms came, it all came down for it had no firm foundation.  And it’s a sure thing the storms will come, so be wise and choose your materials very carefully.  If you have entered into a relationship with Christ, and His Spirit lives in you, then without any doubt you are God’s temple.  Verses16-17 state this truth, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice