Building for Eternal Rewards

0:00Here's today's in-touch devotion. Today's scripture reading is 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 10 through 15. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. Or no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident, for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work, which he has built on it, remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet

1:04so as through fire. Today's passage contains a sobering message about heavenly rewards and how they are acquired. Paul is comparing kingdom work to the efforts of a master builder. He says Christ is the only foundation on which to build, but each of us is responsible for the materials we use on that foundation. We can build with wood, hay, and straw, or with gold, silver, and costly stones. Each man's work will be tested with fire to determine the quality of the materials used. Paul then tells us that if our work survived the trial by fire, we will receive a reward. For our achievements to survive, we must learn to build with imperishable materials. We'll be judged not just by our church work, but also by the way we've handled other responsibilities. This means we're to go about our daily jobs with the same diligence that we would show when tending to matters we might typically label as spiritual.

2:08Ask yourself if you're being honest with the Lord. Remember, he knows our heart and the truth of every situation. Our Heavenly Father expects us to do our very best, and He has given us His Spirit to sanctify our efforts and enable the quality of our work that He desires.