Building your spiritual house (Pt.6)

Pt. 6-Good Bones

“Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 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. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”- 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Over the last several weeks we have been studying how to build your spiritual house. We’ve discussed choosing the right architect and how you are God’s dream home, we’ve talked about Christ being our cornerstone and how the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets our foundation. However, how we frame things up at this point is just as important.

When we bought the last house that we lived in, we were walking through the home with the contractor that built it. He had come by to finish a couple of things and as we were standing in the garage he looks up at the roof trusses and points out the metal pronged truss plates he had installed. Of all the features in the house he could have shown me, I thought it was curious that he pointed out that particular feature. He went on to tell me that those truss plates were tornado/hurricane rated for up to 150 mph wind speed.

The garage was the only place in the house that had an exposed ceiling to see them, otherwise, I probably would have never known they were there. However, in that moment, I got a glimpse not at the aesthetics of the house, but at the structure. I got to see how things were framed up. I got to see what kind of materials were used. He was proud of those truss plates and I can honestly say that in the 14 years I lived there, through all the storms and high winds that battered that house, I never had a single issue with that roof. 

This got me thinking about some of the home improvement shows and the houses they choose to renovate. One of the shows is called, “Good Bones”. What does that mean? As the phrase implies, the house chosen may not necessarily look all that great on the outside, but underneath, it’s in great condition. The structure beneath the surface is good construction. 

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Paul is admonishing us to take the time to think about how and with what materials we are framing up our lives. Are we building our lives with eternity in mind? Are we using materials that will stand the test of time? Are we building our lives quickly and cheaply for today or in a way that will count forever. 

You can have a great blueprint, a solid cornerstone, and a strong foundation, but if you use shoddy materials you are not going to have a house with good bones. 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church