11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15 ESV)
The beauty of Christ salvation is once we come to belief we cannot lose it. However, that does not necessarily mean that we build our foundation properly. In the end we are still saved but the foundation we built may be burned up and shown our lives to have had little true value.
This can seem really harsh to one who has built a great career and a wonderful life for themselves. However, God does not judge by worldly standards. So it could be that all we have built for ourselves is nothing in God’s eyes.
By looking at our lives through scripture we can start to see the parts that may be nothing more than selfish gain. It is then, and only then, that we can start to move to a life that glorifies God. The biggest problem is that we too often judge the quality of our lives by the qualities of the world. We must dig deeper to determine if what we have built or are building has any lasting value.
