Build with the Gold...

  For our school Bible reading the other morning we were reading in 1 Cor. 3 where Paul talked to the Corinthians, and he is rather disgusted with them because they are getting caught up in following man. They were saying stuff like "I follow Paul" & others said "I follow Apollos". And Paul is telling the people, "Look Apollos & I are just servants & we are each assigned our tasks. I planted the seed, Apollos watered, but it was GOD who made it grow." And he goes on to say- So its not about the one that planted or watered, but only GOD who makes it grow. Which is so very true & so often we get things all mixed up & think its about us and our abilities etc. etc.

  However, if you continue reading, Paul says the one that waters & and the one that plants have a PURPOSE, & they will be rewarded according to their labor. Because we are CO-WORKERS in GOD'S (not ours) service, you are GOD'S FIELD, GOD'S building.  And he talks about how he (Paul) laid a foundation which is Jesus, & another man will build on that foundation- he might build with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw. And he says, "Their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, & the fire will test the quality of each persons work." OK let me try to sum up what I got out of this, I'm sure there are many different takes on it. But it spoke to me because it was a reminder that everything we do ultimately comes down to GOD. We can't take credit for what we do or the people we help because we are all just servants with jobs to do & that job is to lead people to the Father. And how we go about that, or whether we do our job well or not (remember the gold, silver, hay etc.) is going to show up down the road because the Day will reveal it. So we can choose to put our hearts & minds into what He's called us to do & we can give our best (which to me is the gold & silver) or we can choose to do things half heartedly and  we can try to receive the honor & glory for ourselves (which is the wood, hay & straw), but our motives will be revealed!!

  When I read this to my children, my eyes were opened & I was enlightened!! And it made me want to "go for the gold". It gave me a desire to bless every single person we get to host here, and go out of my way to serve them. I want to do things well & I realize I/we are only a small part of the big picture!!  I can choose to serve well whether its washing linens, cooking for guests or just encouraging people-

I need to do it all for GOD & and build with the GOLD....