Lent – Wednesday, Day 8
“ For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Cor. 3:11
Be Careful How You Build
I’ve always admired those who could draw up a plan to build something and then do it, and do it well. I tried to build a wooden kneeling bench for prayer when I was a teenager. It seemed a simple task at first. I carefully drew a picture of what I wanted it to look like when done. Then, I set about finding the right materials and to make measurements for each cut, of each piece of wood. However, I quickly realized it was much harder than I expected. There were several things that didn’t seem to work as I tried to assemble the pieces. I didn’t know how to make all the pieces fit just right, which should come as no surprise considering I’d never had a woodworking class in my life. As a result, the bench when done, although recognizable when done, was not sturdy or comfortable.
I was building the bench on a poor foundation. Actually, it was more like no foundation, considering my lack of gifts, skills and training in such things. Life is a lot like my kneeling bench experience. Without the proper foundation, life, while recognizable as such, will not be sturdy or comfortable. Jesus Christ is the only foundation for life as it is meant to be lived. You can build with another foundation, like your own self, or that of another person, but it will eventually fail you.
Our Responsibility
Every generation is responsible to pass the faith of Jesus Christ on to the next, being careful to build on the foundation that is Jesus. The people of the Corinthian church were getting off track. As they grew, they had the right foundation but were not using the best building materials. They started out with gold and silver, and somewhere along the way settled for wood and straw.
How many of our lives are like that? We started out with the right foundation – faith in Christ. However, along the way we ended up substituting the wrong building materials, and we’re not even sure how or when we did it. It’s easy to do if we aren’t diligent about what we’re doing. Maybe we’ve traded authentic worship for false worship, or perhaps we’ve settled for the desires of our flesh rather than the hard work of rooting our desires in the will of God.
This is why Lent is my favorite season of the year. It’s like a 40-day spiritual check up to be sure my foundation is secure, to be sure I’m building with the right materials. Through extra times of fasting, prayer, and works of mercy, we can better listen for the gentle voice of Jesus calling us to correct our course, and bring us back onto a secure foundation
All Will Be Revealed
Are you listening? Jesus is calling to each of us in these days of Lent. Let us therefore, as St. Paul has said, “take care how we build”. In the end of days, how we built will be revealed; Paul tells us fire will reveal it. That which was built poorly will burn and be consumed. But, the good news is Jesus always raises His own from the ashes.
Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent
Pastor Brad
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Matthew 5:6