“Son, I have laid a foundation for you to build upon. A foundation that is sturdy, everlasting and powerful. Nothing can overcome the foundation I have laid for you and nothing can destroy this foundation. This foundation is my son Jesus Christ. I have given you the option to build upon the foundation, using building tools of your choice. Tools such as, gold, silver, costly stones, stick of wood, straw or hay. But I also told you that the work of your building would be tested by fire. The quality of each work will be judged. You my son, have taken it upon yourself to accept my challenge and build upon the foundation. As I have said, I have put to test your choices of tools and works with fire, some have stood the test and some were not deemed worthy. I have examined your work, I have blown fire through your building and what remains of your building is what I see as worthy. Listen child of mine, your building stones of gold laced with fine “pride” has failed and melt in the blazing heat of the fire, as were your pricks of silver painted with a ‘fear’. The costly stones marked with “success” have also been destroyed in rubble from the fire. But son, you have done well with your choice of straw wrapped with ‘faith’, your sticks bundled with ‘trust’ and the hay forged together by ‘love’. These three elements made it through the testing of fire. You have built a strong home here, well done my son. We will continue to work together to remove the elements that you no longer need. I love you son and you are more worthy than any work done by men.”
Reading into 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 Paul speaks about how our works will be tested and judged. But Paul uses an analogy of a house being built on a foundation that has already been laid to help better understand.
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.” 1 Corinthians 3:11-13
Reading these three short verses first makes me think of one of the home makeover television shows you would see on HGTV. Here comes Paul (the host of the show) walking to three teams each consisting five people, he speaks to them with a voice of one from a game show,
“Welcome builders. Today you will be given tools of many kinds, a foundation that has already been laid for you and you will begin to build a building of your choice with the tools of your choice. At the end we will judge your work… BUT WAIT! There is a catch, I will not be the one judging your work this time.” (Everyone looks around with confusion and anxiousness on their faces) “This time the Boss man upstairs will be coming down to test your building with winds of fire! Now, get ready, get set, and BUILD!!!”
Obviously Paul wasn’t playing a game with the disciples or the people of Corinth. He was wanting to teach them something deeper and more spiritual, rather than, direction to a game.
We can see that in verse eleven Paul tells us the foundation has already been laid for us and the foundation is Jesus Christ himself. He then tells us that if we decide to build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the quality of our works will be brought to light and tested with fire.
I wrote a little bit about what the Lord spoke to me as I was meditating and praying over these verses. God showed me which of the works and tools I tried to use to build a strong and sturdy home were of good quality or of poor quality.
“Gold stones laced with Pride, Silver bricks painted with fear and costly stones marked with success.” Were all destroyed in the fire. The elements and works that would naturally make it through fire were the very things that were destroyed. Whereas, the items such as, “straw wrapped with faith, sticks bundled with trust and hay forged together with love”, miraculously made it through the fire.
In our natural world we would expect the stones to last and be the ones standing through the fire. But God tends to look deeper than the natural quality of men and sees the quality of his son, Jesus, living inside of men.
I want to encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 and prayerfully put into thought what God may be speaking to you through these verses.
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God bless you all!!
