Construction

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 1 Corinthians 3:10

Together, we are building a church—and individually, we are building fully devoted followers of Christ. We are always adding to the lives of other believers, figuratively nailing on spiritual teachings and bricking in obedient lifestyles. In the same fashion, we are always working on ourselves. The idea is to be a good builder, putting in the labor needed and building according to plan.

But each one should be careful how he builds. In construction, a builder uses quality material, skillfully assembled in the correct manner. For the Christian, this translates into knowing God and living in obedience to His will. It also relates to teaching others and guiding them to follow God’s direction.

This construction metaphor also applies in another sense. When I’m out of fellowship with God, it’s like I’m building with the wrong material and using the wrong tool. In some cases, it’s as if I wreck a well-crafted part of the structure. And if my shoddy workmanship damages someone else’s progress, well…we don’t EVEN want to go there.

But each one should be careful how he builds…with each stage of construction fashioned out of love for God and for each other.

Father, make me a careful builder, working according to Your direction in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ as well as in my own life.

Your fellow worker,
Jim