Building on a good base

I recently took delivery of a new garden shed which was to be erected on a base previously laid down for the purpose. When the building sections arrived, however, the erection team were unable to complete their work, as they discovered that the base had not been laid flat, and the timber building they intended to put up would have been crooked and not watertight. A new base had to be laid over the prepared one, with adaptations to correct the problems.

How important it is for our lives to have good foundations if they are to grow up in good order. An apparently solid structure built on unsound ground will not stand true, as is seen in the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Similarly, a life based on falsehood, deception, ungodliness or the pursuit of evil will never match up to the plumb-line of the Lord.

The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians that the foundation he put into their lives was the best – The Lord Jesus Christ. However, care would be needed by them to ensure a good life was then built on Jesus. How blessed they were to have Paul to install the right foundation before the life-building continued.

Rebuilding our lives must include attention to the base – only Jesus gives us the sound foundation – and also care in how we continue, making sure that every part is built on and in truth. I wonder how many of us have been focusing a lot on the process of our Christian living but we’ve overlooked the possibilities of our spiritual base having been crooked in the first place?

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for giving us a sound basis for living. We’re sorry if there have been times when we’ve allowed the distortion of our past to affect the process of our Christian growth. Help us to see where we might have an unsafe foundation, so we can work with Your Holy Spirit as You rebuild our lives. Amen.