Doing What We Can
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Bee's Thoughts:
For those who are architects, just like my 'bf' is, they will know how important the foundation is to a building. Without a good foundation,all building will topple no matter how good it may look.
For Christians, Christ should be their foundation in all the things they do. Otherwise, there will be no difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. Therefore, be it building a career for ourselves or a relationship with others, we need to be sure Jesus Christ is our foundation and basis. We are to do our part in sharing the good news or words of encouragement wherever God places us -- work or friendship.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being my foundation in the things I build... my career and relationship. I pray that in all I do and with whome I commune with Your name will be glorified. May You grant growth to whatever I do, with the might You have given me.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
We can get so busy with our lives that we lost track of what matters most to us and our future. In today’s passage, Paul gave us a simple and clear way to know and evaluate whether the things we are so preoccupied are based on the right foundation. Are the things we do fit into the pattern provided by Jesus? Is He the foundation in our lives and the reason for being?
We need to reassess everything we pursue today and also the person we think we are to ensure they are based and modeled not on wealth, security, fame or success but on Jesus, the only real and lasting foundation in our lives.
Dear Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness to be here with me in guiding my every way. Forgive me that at times for being a slow and disobedient learner. But despite my flaws and failure, thank You that You never give up on me and continue to change and mold me to be more like Christ each day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
