READING: Psalms 89-90, 1 Corinthians 3:5-4:5
I look around at all that Pam and I have (much more than we need . . .), and I think about how much of this stuff is only temporary. In the room in which I’m sitting are all kinds of souvenirs, mementos, and pictures of trips we’ve taken around the world. The trips were great, and the memories are many – but the stuff will not last forever. Below this room is my car in our garage. I’ve driven it since about 2003—so it’s really old . . . and I might want it to last forever—but I know it’s going to wear out eventually. Even the house in which I sit could disappear quickly under a strong natural disaster. It’s all built on nothing more than “wood, hay, or straw” (1 Cor 3:12).
On the other hand, I pray that our work at the seminary and the IMB focuses on training the next generation of leaders who will proclaim the gospel to North America and the world – leading to people finding eternal life in Christ. The money we have may itself be temporal, but we’re planning to leave it to support ministries that, too, announce the gospel to others. Our goal is that we can contribute to the ongoing work of evangelism and missions that will someday result in more worshippers around the throne of God; that is, we want to build that which lasts, symbolized in today’s reading by “gold, silver, costly stones” (1 Cor 3:12).
What I must admit, though, is that it’s not easy to lean toward the eternal. Even for believers who want to live differently, it’s far too easy to live for that which does not last.
PRAYER: “God, help us to build on what matters eternally.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalms 91-96, 1 Corinthians 4:6-5:13