¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials-gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. ¹³ But on the judgement day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 [NLT]

So today’s daily bread entry has been a little late, so I apologise for that. Actually, you know what, I don’t have anything to apologise for. I am thankful. In fact, I am super grateful to God for blessing me with a part-time gig right now. Having this temp job meant being able to earn some money. And that is precisely what I needed at this very moment. Well, one of the few things that I really need.

I just had a rather productive and interesting job interview this morning. Though nothing is set in stone yet, and I really want to reserve my own positivity and excitement; but I genuinely think that there is a good possibility that this could turn out to be something good. I guess we will know soon.

Alright, let’s get into our reflection and discussion for today.

Reflecting Upon How I’m BUilding My Life.

A few weeks ago, I already did an entry about how the word of God, hence Jesus Christ, is the rock that we should be building our life upon. He is that foundation that we need if we want to be able to withstand any kind of major storms in our lives. But building a real house in life goes far beyond just laying the foundation. It is also about the building frames, the walls, the concrete that we pour, and how we building our roof, and so many other things.

But for the simplicity of our discussion and reflection today, let’s just assume that there are two ways for us to build our house – using the premium, best quality materials, or the sub-par, questionable materials.

When I think about the two different ways we can build our lives/houses, this is what they mean:

• Sub-par, low-quality, questionable materials – this is like building a life that is based upon all the showy, materialistics stuff. On the surface, you can look like you are very successful, or very happy. Many people who look at you on the surface might even get a little jealous or envious. You seem like you have everything in life going for you. But then when a fire/major storm comes (like a test), your house will begin to fall apart because of the cheap, questionable materials that you have been using to build the walls and the roofs and so on. In reality, all those showy, superficial stuff that we have may look nice on the surface, but if we don’t have something solid to build our lives with, once we loose whatever we have, we will have nothing left.
• Using the premium, top-quality materials – this to me sounds a lot like the things we would do in our lives. How we treat others. Our compassion and kindness towards one another. The kind of character that we would build within ourselves. Our integrity. Most of these things won’t be immediately obvious to others on the surface. But then they are what builds and strengthens our soul and character. Even when a major storm does come into our lives, it will be these things that will help to keep us firmly on our feet instead of stumbling over.

Think of the Storms in Life as Safety Inspections

That is probably the best analogy that I can think about right now. When I think about the regular storms that we face in our lives and how they would constantly challenge and test our foundations and what we have built in our lives, I imagine it like having safety inspectors that would regular visit a building to test and check both it’s structures and foundations. To make sure that there are no cracks and faults. And if there are, we will be made aware of them and then we need to do something to fix those issues in our lives.

That is what those storms are meant to do. To test our structure (how we have built our lives).

Facing the Final Test Before God

I think this is what the word is trying to teach us and show us today. Throughout our lives, we will be given plenty of opportunity to improve and make our lives better (building it up with all the right things, not just the material things). There is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy our lives while we are living here on earth. Sure, you can have a yacht, or own a nice big bungalow, or have multiple properties around the world. You can live in luxury if you can afford it. But just make sure that that is not all that your life is about.

The question that we all need to ask ourselves everyday is this, “If I were to lose everything that I have today. Everything that I own. What would I have left? Who would I become? What sort of person will I be without everything that I have today?”

If you can answer those questions honestly with yourself, then I suppose you will do just fine.

Because at the end of our lives, when we are eating dirt, six feet under, we can’t bring our material possessions with us. The only thing that will matter is what sort of legacy did we leave behind? What have we done during our very short time on this earth? Whose lives have we impacted along the way? That will become our final test.

Personal Prayer for Today

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You once again for speaking to us today through Your word. Thank you for reminding us that everything that we try to do/build in this life must be built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (hence, the word of God).

Thank You for also reminding us that it is more than just the foundation of our lives that we need to think about. Building a house also includes the walls and the roofs that we build. And the kind of materials that we would use to build them. Thank You for teaching/reminding us that how we build our lives matters just as much as the foundation to which we build upon.

Today, as we reflect and look at our own lives, help us to understand if there is anything in our lives that we need to put more effort into doing. Maybe we need to treat others with more compassion or empathy, maybe we need to spend some time working on our own character and integrity. Whatever it is, speak to us and help us to better understand the cracks in the structures of our lives, so that we can be better prepared for that final test on the day that Jesus Christ arrives.

We vow to give You all of the praises and all the glory. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.