Built to last

May 8, 2007

By Jerry Scott

The building dates to the 1880s — a beautiful old Presbyterian church in Oxford, N.J. In a quick tour recently, I was shown the vaulted ceiling, the hewn beams, the hand-carved pegs that held the floor joists in place, and the round pillars carefully crafted. It had been built to last by craftsmen who cared about their work, not hastily slapped together with shoddy materials.

The church building gives evidence of prosperous people who invested generously in its construction to honor God and to display their sense of community. I wondered what kinds of sermons were preached over her pulpit to what effect in the lives of those who worshipped there. How many hundreds of children passed through her Sunday School to learn principles that guided their lives? How many couples made their marriage vows in her nave? Most wonderful is that the building still serves as a home to a group of people, after all these years.

As I drove away, my mind picked up on Paul’s phrase, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NKJV). It is interesting to think of our lives as a building. If someone remembers Jerry Scott 50 years from today, if they should somehow pick up a photo album and take a “tour” of my life, what would they find — a temple built for lasting honor to God or a warehouse thrown together with cheap material?

I am aware (more so every day) of my mortality. I hear the echo of the words Shakespeare put into the mouth of Macbeth: “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

To be sure, life is short, but I do not share Macbeth’s dim view of life’s meaning. I have known those who live noisy lives that are nothing but bluff and bluster, designed to create an illusion of importance. I care nothing for that. Instead, my intent is to live in a quietly effective way so my short time on the small stage here on earth leaves a rich legacy for those who come along behind me. And I want to live each day in a way that leads to the blessing of God for eternity — in other words, a life built to last!

The Word shows us the blueprint for a life that lasts. Paul says, “Build on the solid foundation, the only lasting foundation, which is Christ Jesus” (see 1 Corinthians 3:11). Money, fame and pleasure are foundations that will erode, and when the foundation crumbles, the building falls!

Jesus says “If you work [my] words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss” (Luke 6:48,49, The Message).

Make the Holy Spirit the General Contractor of your life! Listen to His counsel. Cooperate with Him as He shows you the way to live — lovingly, purposefully, with steady discipline. The result will be a temple built to last that causes others to praise God and that will, in eternity, enjoy the best approval of all, the commendation of the Master Builder.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24,25, NIV).

Jerry D. Scott is senior pastor of Washington (N.J.) Assembly of God.