At The
Construction Site
by Captain Scott
Strissel
Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words
of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who
built his house on the rock.
25 The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock. 26
But everyone who hears these words of
mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man
who built his house on sand.
27 The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell with a great crash."
When I was a child I used to enjoy watching construction
workers build things.
I could sit for hours watching them work away at mixing
concrete, hoisting support beams, laying rebar…it all
fascinated me. I
longed to see the finished product, a completed project that
took hours, even days to complete.
I would go by the construction site day after day on my
way to school just to see how much progress they had made in
the hours that I had been away.
I was invested in witnessing the completed project,
though it wasn’t my house, I still wanted, I longed to see it
finished.
By the time the construction of the remodeled home was
completed, the workers there knew me by name.
Why?
Because I wasn’t content in just watching, I wanted to know
why and how they were doing any and every task.
I was insanely curious…and so I asked a lot of
questions.
Luckily, the foreman (who must have had children of his own)
was a patient man who didn’t mind giving me an answer from
time to time. He
was competent and considerate of my age and so explained it as
a parent would to a child; in simple terms.
He explained why they put wire mesh in with the
concrete or why rebar was there at all…it would make the
structure stronger and would last longer.
He also explained why the bubble on the level had to be
in the middle so that the work they did would stand and not
fall down because it was uneven.
I asked many questions and thankfully that foreman
answered most of them with the patience of a saint.
Why bring up this childhood experience?
Why mention it? Am I just trying to relive my
childhood?
Perhaps…but it’s more than that.
It makes me think of what kind of foundation I am
laying in my own spiritual with God.
Many times in my life I have thought about those
conversations with that foreman in the context of my spiritual
journey with Christ.
Am I living a balanced life?
Have I continued to be firmly rooted in His word?
Is the foundation of my life what it should be?
Introspectively I have asked myself these questions
many, many times.
I don’t say this in boasting by any means, but a right
relationship with God is very important to me.
Is it important to you?
I will never forget those lessons that I learned as a child by
simply passing by a construction site day after day on my way
to and from school.
How is your foundation?
Has it been reinforced with the rebar of fellowship
with other Christians?
Are there cracks forming along the walls of your faith
because of wear and tear and pressures of life?
At our conversion we align ourselves with Christ.
We accept His sacrifice on the cross for our sins and
we essentially say God rebuild me.
Tear down the old, remove the dirty and broken, and
start again. In
that process we gain new life, a new construction takes place
and there is life on our spiritual property.
But here’s a big issue:
Many remain at the altars of their lives professing
Christ and declaring “I’m a Christian”, but they never grow
from there. God
expects us to mature in our faith.
He has provided us the best foundation in His son Jesus
Christ, but we have to allow the Holy Spirit to begin the
transformation within us.
We can’t remain baby Christians…or essentially just a
foundation without a structure built on top.
God’s presence within us, which is the Holy Spirit,
wants to develop in us a deeper, stable structure of maturity
and faith.
If your life needs some renovation, some rebuilding…will you
allow God to begin that in you today?
He’s the best foreman for the job and He can be trusted
to finish that construction of holiness in you!
The foundation is already firmly laid.
But without a strong, stable structure on top, which is
holiness and spiritual maturity, we are
still vulnerable and unstable in the temptations and elements
of our old lives.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for your Son who made it possible
for me to be redeemed, I ask now that you would continue in me
Your work.
Transform me through the work of Your Holy Spirit, grant me
the strength to address issues that still exist within my life
that are yet remnants of my old ways.
Allow me wisdom and discernment to study your word and
to apply it in my living day by day.
I want to be the creation you have intended for me.
Deliver me from sin and from temptation, as I know I
must avoid their trappings in order to mature and to grow in
Your grace. May
it be so in my life today.
Amen.
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