When I was 16 years old, I took a job working in new home construction. I remember it being very hot that summer. As we would begin a house, we would go back to the blueprints nonstop in order to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. I started out being the stud guy. I had to go around all the base boards, measure out 16 inches and put an “X” on the board. Later, as the frame was being finished, the guys had me look at the boards they were using on the roof to tell them if the crown was up or down. Everything we did as framers mattered because the other crews were going to be using the same blueprints to do their jobs in order to complete the house.
God has put it in each one of us to be builders. Most of us are never going to build a house, but we build businesses, families, a life, etc. It matters how we build those things more than it does in building a house. The materials, the layout and the quality with which we build our lives on will one day be judged. Are we building with eternity in mind? If not, the things we build won’t last. We are to build our lives using God’s blueprints found in the Bible. We are to build on a strong foundation otherwise the things we build can be wiped out by life’s storms. It’s no fun starting over, but I’d rather have the opportunity to rebuild here than to wait until eternity to see if the things I’ve built are structurally sound.
Here are some Bible verses on building your life with quality materials.
1. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13 NLT
2. So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
MATTHEW 7:24-25 AMP
3. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:7 GNT
4. Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
Luke 6:46-47 MSG
5. But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
Jude 1:20-21 MSG
Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 