Heaven

Heaven

No one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15

If you had unlimited resources to build your dream house, what would it look like? Would it be a small cottage by the ocean, a condominium in a high-rise close to cultural events in the city, or a brick mansion with a large, circular drive out in the country? How big would it be, what period of architecture would you choose, and what kind of building materials would you use?

Few people have the opportunity to live in their dream home. Most people are thankful for adequate shelter that houses the family. If there are extra comforts and beauties, that’s great too! All of us who know Christ will live in a dream home someday, and spending time thinking about it now is a good thing. God’s Word tells us that the way we live our lives here on earth will have an eternal effect on our dwelling in heaven.

If we want our eternal lives to be spent with Jesus, our foundation must be built on him. Having established that, our daily choices determine the kind of building materials we will use—straw, hay, wood (cheap and easy), or stone, silver, or gold (costly and valuable).

We might imagine that some of us are sending ahead sufficient materials for pup tents, some for studio apartments, some for trailer homes, some for ranch houses, and others for great mansions.^a

What will our home in heaven be made of? We determine what it will be like by the choices we make each day.

God my foundation,

It’s sobering to remember that our daily choices now will have eternal consequences. May what we think, say, and do be valuable like gold and not cheap like straw. Amen.