Faith Note: Building for Eternity

“. . . members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

A building is as good as its foundation. A good architect and builder will often agree to over engineer a building’s foundation by a factor of 200 to 300 percent. But when budgets are tight and money is short, there is a real temptation to take shortcuts on the depth of the concrete and the diameter of the re bar. If the building inspector passes the concrete pour, who is to know what is really in the foundation? What difference does it make when the building is sold?

Maybe it doesn’t make any difference in the beginning, but as time goes on and the ground shifts because of dry or wet conditions, in a worse case scenario, the building can become unusable and must be torn down.

Imagine building a life if you were not certain what your life’s foundation was. You might believe that your life depended on money, or health, or fame, or power, or success, or any kind of earthly stuff. In the end all those “foundations” will desert you and leave you without support at the door of death. Then it is clear that life without Christ is only a living death.

What do we have as members of God’s household? We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. God’s divine revelation, Holy Scripture, belongs to us. Both the Old and New Testaments point us to Jesus Christ, God’s Son. With God’s help, as we build our lives, we see Jesus as our cornerstone and we look to Him for support, help and hope. When Satan tears at us with temptation, trouble, trial, tribulation, we cling to Christ the Cornerstone of our life’s foundation. Our sins are forgiven. Eternal life is secure in the cross of Christ.

What a comfort to know that what we are not alone! Around the world, through the ages, human beings have been moved to see Jesus as the only cornerstone and foundation for life. God the Holy Spirit takes lifeless, spiritually dead people, and calls them to faith and finds a place for them in God’s Holy Christian Church. Thank God that you are members of His Building, the Church, and that in Christ, you are building for eternity!