Boxing Day 2017

December 26: 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Devotion:
What sort of year have you had this year? Has it been a year where you have grown in Christ, or a year that you look back on and think how much more you could have done? Well, I would hope for each one of us it will be a mixture of both of the above; a year where we can look back and see how much we have grown in Christ, and a year where we can look forward to the things that we will be able to do for and with Him.

Unlike the apostle, I am no wise master builder... I see myself more as the apprentice brick-layer continually working at building a wall. Sometimes I see the wall as shooting up and others I am not sure as to whether it is going up or not. But with Christ by my side, I continue to build upon the foundation that has been planted. It is as a trusting apprentice I build on the foundation, respecting others who have come before me to lay that foundation, trusting wholly in it. It is with faith I have to trust the foundation because I cannot see anything but the top of it, but I know it is there because I can see the wall growing and being supported. I am told it will hold the whole house without problems, and even be strong enough for extensions to be built after I have finished.

That foundation is Jesus Christ. He is the one who has totally secured the building site so we can all build with confidence. Now what we build is going to be judged by others as well as by Christ. What we build is going to be seen by others. We may be able to hide a few imperfections behind a bit of paint and things, but Christ can see through everything we build. Others will judge us for what they see but Christ will see us for what we are and what we have done and what we are doing. Living our lives for Him means doing exactly that, living our lives so He will be happy with what we build on His foundation. There is a difference between building for the world and building for Christ – we have to make sure that our focus is on God!

Points to Ponder:
Do you ever worry that you are not doing the right thing?

We can build anything on our true foundation, but will Christ like what we build?