A Solid Foundation

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. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 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. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15 ESV). Kyle is dealing with architects and construction folks getting all the final permits and specs on the house Mary and I will be moving to in January. In Texas the construction is a bit different than in Tennessee. In Texas a home is typically built on concrete poured directly on the ground. We call that “the slab.” In Tennessee a home is built on piers and beams built to support the home. It is essential that both types of construction have a solid support for the foundation. The house simply cannot endure much movement from the soil before it begins to weaken and crack. We’ve all seen people construct sandcastles at the beach. Some are very elaborate works of art. They take hours and hours to build. I have admired their work. But I also know those impressive structures wouldn't last very long. It was only a matter of time until either a tide came in and swept them away or the wind and water from the surf eroded them to an unrecognizable state. Some folks make the mistake of building their lives and families on sand, like those momentary sandcastles. They build it on fleeting emotions or some other thing. But a life must be built on something stronger that will sustain it. Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with an illustration of what we should build our lives on: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25 ESV). Notice that Jesus did not say if a storm comes but when a storm comes. Life is full of surprises. These twists in our journey will not destroy our building if we have started with a solid foundation. Build on Jesus. Nothing else will do!