What Are You Building With?

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”  — 1 Corinthians 3:10‭-‬15 NASB

Where are your priorities? What parts of your life would you consider major and what would you consider minor? 

I heard a pastor friend of mine years ago preach on this passage and he asked the question. “Gold. Silver, Precious stones. Wood. Hay. Straw (“stubble” in the KJV). Are these items legitimate building materials?” Yes, they absolutely are. But here’s where he made his point and I’ll make mine.  The wood, hay, and straw do not stand firm and in place when God’s trials come. Only the valuable building materials will last thru the fire. 

Christ wants us to build our lives for Him, but he also needs us to be careful what we’re building with. As you go through life, trying your best to live for Christ, ask yourself if these things you do every day or every week should or shouldn’t be priorities.

When you reach heaven, God is going to take your life that you’ve built and ruin it thru His firepit, so to speak. I don’t know exactly how it will look. Picture this big object you bring before your heavenly Father.  You’ve built it.  You’re proud of it.  You’re anxious to see what He thinks of it. 

The passage says that God will treat it by fire. How much of your life, do you think, will stand firm and still be there when it comes out the other side of the fire? Is it all still going to be there? Is half of it gonna burn up? Are you going to be left with next to nothing? As humans, we all mess up and some of it will be burned up, but we should work to keep as much of it there as possible.  We should be striving and struggling to build our lives with things of value and not things that are worthless.

Now, the passage clarifies, this does not affect your salvation. You will still be as saved from sin and death as you were when you accepted Christ as your Savior. He will not banish you to hell because the life you built collapsed in the fire. That would be salvation by works, rather than by grace.

Remember that God has laid our foundation, (v. 10) and we are simply building on that. The challenge that Paul was asking the church in Corinth is this. “What materials are you using in building on that foundation? What are you building with?”

One of my main goals for my life is to one day, when my life on earth is over, is to hear God say those wonderful words. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant….” (Matthew 25:21)