DAILY DEVOTIONAL – September 18, 2019
“Built to Last”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, there is nothing in the world more valuable or more durable than You and that salvation You earned for us on the cross. Lord, in Your mercy keep our eyes focused on that which will last and endure for eternity. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Devotion – “Built to Last”
My family and I recently took a trip to visit family back in California. Both my wife and I were amazed by how much new construction there had been over the past two years since we moved to Nebraska. One particular piece of land that used to be one of the few remaining wide open areas near where we used to live was now being prepared for more apartment buildings. The green hills that once rolled along a stretch of the 5 freeway were now being leveled by huge earth moving machines and enormous bulldozers.
As I watched in awe of the immense power these machines had in order to flatten the earth, I remembered the days of playing with Tonka trucks in the sandbox as a child, and the words of our Lord in Matthew 7 came to mind. Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds on solid rock.”
All of us, whether we know how to operate a bulldozer or not, are in the business of building. We work hard every day to build up our bank accounts, we work hard in building our relationships, we work hard in building and perfecting our homes, and hopefully, we work hardest at building up our faith and building on the foundation of grace and forgiveness that has been laid for us in the blood of Jesus Christ.
When you think about building (whether that be building a structure or building a legacy), what you build on is just as if not more important that what you build up. As our Lord teaches us, if what you build on isn’t solid and reliable then neither is what you build up. What you build is only as good as what you build on.
Having a father-in-law who works in construction, another thing I noticed about construction and construction workers is that the day begins very early in the morning. My father-in-law is up well before the sun; around 3:30am to begin work the moment the sun shines its light on the worksite. The schedule and building on time are critical in the world of construction. Not a moment of the day can be wasted.
Back in my days of working in corporate America, I had a boss that said something that has always stuck with me. He said, “Everyone gets up early for something.” I think the point of the saying is clear: there are certain things in life that motivate us more than others. Things like staying on schedule in construction. There are those things that don’t cause us a moment’s hesitation when hitting the snooze button one more time, and then there are those certain things, those most important things, that wake us up before the alarm even goes off.
As I said before, we may not all be in the work of construction, but we are all builders. We all get up early for something.
There is a poem written by Edgar Guest that I think captures the essence of what our Lord Jesus is talking about in our passage from Matthew 7 about building on the right foundation; the foundation of faith in Christ. The poem goes like this:
As I watched them tear a building down
A gang of men in a busy town
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and the side wall fell
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled,
And the men you’d hire if you wanted to build?”
He gave a laugh and said, “No, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two,
What builders have taken years to do.”
And I thought to myself, as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
“O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!”
The brilliant architecture of a building or the luxury of the amenities inside matter nothing if the foundation on which it is built is not solid. All of the time and energy and effort and money we spend building in life, whether building our wealth or building our relationships, is for nothing and is worth nothing if we do not build on the solid rock and foundation that is Christ Jesus. Earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes will come. Disappointment, loss, emergencies and disasters in life will come. The walls and structure of what we build will be tested. Our only assurance of having what we have built stand firm, is to ensure we not only build on Christ as our foundation but build up for eternity; to invest and build in what will last.
Nothing in this life is forever. All things will come to an end when at the perfect time, that only God the Father knows, Christ returns to test all that has been built in this life. Everything that has not been built on and for Christ and for the Kingdom of God will not last. What are you building my friends? What are you getting up early for? I pray that no matter what it is, that you build it on the foundation of Christ and for the sake of His Kingdom and Glory.
God bless you as you build my friends, and remember that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
