What are you wanting to build?

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday I suggested that all of us, by virtue of being human, are house-builders at heart. Of course, I don’t mean that literally. I for one, have very little literal house-building experience, other than the blanket and duvet variety I referred to yesterday.

I did attempt, once, to knock together a wooden kennel for one of my dogs. I got about halfway through when she came to inspect what I was doing, and gave me one of those big, droopy, doggy-eyed looks as if to say, ‘You have got to be kidding.’ And I looked at what I’d done and I realized that this poor mutt was absolutely right, and that the kindest thing I could do was to stop right there and then.

I did make a wooden postbox once that looked a bit like a little house. It even had a little roof on it, and a little canopy over the slot where the letters would go in, and I made sure it was north facing, which if you think about it is a bit odd, as if your mail really cares about where it lies until you collect it.

But while my literal house-building has been rather limited, in other ways I recognize that I am a house-builder at heart after all. I want to provide for my children. I want to give them the kind of firm foundation on which their lives can be grounded. I want to offer them the kind of space in which they can flourish and grow, and become more and more the unique and beautiful individuals that God has created them to be.

In the work of ministry that is my great privilege to do, I want to offer myself in such a way that lives can be transformed, and rich community can be forged, and the church of God can be built up.

As a citizen of this country, I want to play my part in the ongoing task of nation-building within this remarkable land of ours.

And I have a hunch that in similar ways each one of you is a house-builder at heart as well.

So let me ask you: As you think about your children, or your grandchildren perhaps, and what you are doing to enable them to live more fulfilled lives. As you think about your work, and how it can make this world a better place. As you think about your friends and the kind of influence that you are to them. As you think about your contribution within the church or the wider community. What are you wanting to build with your life?

Why would anyone not want their miraculous lives to be put to magnificent purpose? Surely, this one chance that we’ve got to take hold of this never-to-be-repeated gift of life should be seized with everything we have and all that we are? And surely, in that which we build, we would want it to be solid, wholesome and good, something that will last, something that will stand in an enduring, life-giving way?

In the parable that Jesus told about the wise and foolish builders, the only criterion that ultimately mattered and which ultimately distinguished them from each other, was whether or not they acted on the words of Jesus that they had heard.

As you think about what you want to build with your life, what words of Jesus resonate within you? What are you doing to act on them?

PRAY AS YOU GO

It’s true Lord, I want my life to matter. I want my life to count. I want my life to contribute to making this world a better, more beautiful place. I want my life to be a positive part of the building up of your Kingdom. So help me to hear your word and act upon it – that I might be one of those who builds on the rock. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 7:24-28

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."