Epiphany
February 16, 2017
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 3:10-11
My house built in 1923 has a crawl space foundation. At some point, someone added a screened porch built on a concrete slab. In 2011, an earthquake occurred several miles from my home. I was away when it happened. When I returned home, I found all the pictures in my living room on the floor one with broken glass. I discovered from the evening news the probable cause when I heard about the earthquake. It was a few weeks before I discovered other more major problems. Three piers added and other repairs later, I now know that building a house on different types of foundations is unwise. The same is true regarding building our lives on incompatible foundations. Jesus said it best in Matthew 6:24, No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
The decisions we make in life strengthen and weaken our spiritual foundations. Just as the porch pulled away from my house so can our souls pull away from God. It can happen like a mighty earthquake but more often, I think, it occurs in relatively unnoticeable slippage away from what we know is God’s plan for us. My sins tend toward acts of omission rather than commission. I am good at following rules. I sometimes must force myself to love all my neighbors just as they are (actually that is probably considered a rule) or speak up when I see injustice or step up to meet a need.
Prayer: God of Grace and Mercy, forgive me when I fall away from your plan. Undergird me with your spiritual piers so that my foundation in your love remain solid. Amen.