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A Sure Foundation
“We are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.”
1 Corinthians 3:9-14
When I read this passage, I looked out of my office window and inspected the foundation of our beloved St. Martin’s. From my office, I can see all the brick, stone, and concrete that together support and make our building whole.
In my childhood, I loved road work, sitting in traffic, looking out the window at all the heavy equipment fixing, building, or destroying the highway. Now that I am behind the wheel, I am less fond of road construction, but I still enjoy watching buildings and homes being built. There is something fulfilling, even from a distance, seeing hard work and a project slowly come together.
Thinking about today’s Corinthians passage, our foundation of Jesus Christ has been laid, but what is being added on top of it? Many of us use various Bibles, religious daily devotionals, and other reading materials to further build our own spirituality, God’s building in this metaphor. It is a hard task to continue to work on ourselves in our spiritual journeys, but it is good work.
Thinking of others, how can we help build up each other’s spiritual buildings? We are all in various stages of the project; some of us may have many layers of gold, silver, and precious stones, while others have just begun their walk with Christ. This thought challenges me to be a builder of encouragement, cheering on and supporting those around me in their process.
My final thought in this Daily Word is that we pray for discernment in who God is putting in our path this day and how to help them.
Father, as we walk this day, give us a spirit of discernment to know who we are to help this day. Give us confidence and peace as we continue to work on our own spiritual building and journey with You. We know that through Jesus Christ all things are possible. Amen.
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