Happy new year to all! It's a common practice for a lot of people to write, or at least have new year's resolutions, things they'd like to change like bad habits, vices they'd like to stop, lose some extra weight perhaps, and are usually successful for a few weeks.
But as the weeks and months roll by, they find it's really tough to stick to it and end up doing what they usually do before, rendering the resolutions useless. How can we better our lives? How can we better ourselves? How do we successfully make changes for the better? Is there a way we can make our lives count?
The book of 1 Corinthians chapter 3 talks about building. The Apostle Paul talks about different people doing their specific parts, someone plants, another waters, but it is God who gives the increase. In this chapter then we learn how we, as different individuals, all have our own parts to do. And no matter what we do, we affect the people around us, in a good way or a bad way, depending on how we do things.
So how should we build our lives then? The Apostle Paul says in verse 10 that as a wise master builder he has laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. This speaks about us having different jobs, different goals, but having the same foundation.
Three things that we should remember then as we build our lives:
First: We should build on the right foundation. What is the right foundation? The right foundation is the Word of God. We build according to the truth of God's word, and we build according to the grace of God, through faith. The height we soar is only according to how deep our foundation is, just like buildings. The tallest buildings in the world can only stand tall because their foundation is deep enough to support the height. We should make sure then, that our foundation is strong, by knowing the word of God.
Second: We should take heed how we build. When we do things, what motives do we have when we do them? Do we just do things blindly, or we do think of the results and consequences. We should have the right attitude when doings things. We should focus on quality and not quantity. We should focus on our calling and our purpose. Remember, it is not how much we do, but what we do and how we do it. We only have one life to live, therefore, we should make it count and not live it carelessly.
Third: We should make sure that we build with the right materials. What are we going to use to build our lives on? 1 Corinthians 3 verses 12-15 talks about the materials we build our lives. There's gold, silver, precious stones,wood, hay and straw. And it goes on to say that in the end, all our works will be tested by fire, and those whose works remain will receive a reward.
If we notice, the first three materials are fire proof, so to speak. These three are not easily accesible, they have to be mined first, and then purified by fire. The other three are common, wood, straw and hay. These materials are easily combustible. If fire touches them, they become ash, and nothing remains but that.
In our lives, we will encounter a lot of things, we will experience a lot of things, and we will definitely do a lot of things. And they'll be made of any of the six things mentioned above, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, straw and hay. And the fire of God will burn away things that are impure. We have to remember that ultimately, it is God who we do things for. As for me, when I come face to face with Him, I would like to offer God a life well-lived.
So, as an encouragement, I would like to exhort everyone that as we live our lives, we are not alone in living it. We should remember that the first verses of the bible chapter that I shared says it is God who gives the increase. He takes responsibilty for what He is building, and whatever He is building, He takes ownership of it.
Lastly, in order to make our lives count, in order to make our lives better, in order for us to live a life well-lived, we should build our lives in who He is, what He's done for us, dying on the cross, and we have to remember who we are in Him, as precious children of God. Only then can we live our lives victoriously. And when we do come face to face with Him, we will hear Him say, 'well done, My good and faithful servant.'
Read also:
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
The Greatest Gift This Christmas
Comments
Post a Comment