Good building
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have— Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11
Every building needs firm foundations. I’ve just been reading up about the process of preparing good foundations for a self-build. As you can imagine, it’s a major task involving a careful examination of the land with the help of a structural engineer. Then it’s necessary to excavate the ground and prepare it with flood damage-resistant and decay-resistant materials before laying sufficient foundations to take the full load of the construction. It’s a highly involved process but none of that is necessary when we are building the Church of Jesus Christ. He’s already laid the foundations; all we need to do is build.
There are two things that you need if you are going to get involved in building up the Church. Firstly, you need to know your role. Paul was clear that he was an expert builder. This might sound like bragging, but it really wasn’t. It was simply the vital task that God had given him to perform. You and I have our own roles to fulfil. Perhaps you are an expert builder, a labourer shifting things around or the person who makes the tea to keep everyone going. What matters crucially is that you know what you are supposed to be doing. Just imagine a building site where everyone was scratching their head wondering what to do next!
Secondly, we need to make sure that we are building with the right materials. Paul wrote about the variety of materials that could be used – gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. The fact is that some of the available materials will last and others won’t. We need to make sure that we choose the ones that are durable. Some people are tempted to focus on building up the church’s reputation, size or income. Those are not bad things but they shouldn’t be our focus. The role of a church is to help people to become stronger and more mature in their discipleship. As we grow in that way, we will truly be the Church that God wants us to be.
QUESTION
As you think of your church, what are three good building materials and three bad ones?
PRAYER
Lord God, thank you that in Christ we have firm foundations. Help us to be careful and effective builders. Amen