Messes To Masterpieces

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Matthew 4:8-9

Building sandcastles is child’s play. Who has not built them either at the beach or in a sandbox in the backyard. A dream world of make-believe in your fingertips, a personal kingdom fashioned just to your liking and desires. Sandcastles – big, small, elaborate or just a row of simple pillars made from upside-down buckets of wet sand. Some things never change. The dreams just get deeper and more intense.

Cities of the world are built of the same stuff. Sand is the principle ingredient of concrete and glass. Skyscrapers are basically pillars of sand reaching the heavens, lifting and supporting its building occupants high above the earth. And the older we get it seems we prefer them bigger, higher and with fancier street names and fashionable zip codes.

The Bigger The Sandcastles The Better

It appears mankind has an innate, almost morbid proclivity to challenge God. The tendency surfaced long ago in the first created man, Adam. His legacy proceeded him for generations to include a man the Bible identifies as Nimrod:

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and … Genesis 10:8-10

Nimrod was in the sandcastle business big time. The Bible refers to him as a “mighty hunter”. A mighty hunter not of the earth, but “before the LORD”. We never read anywhere where he ever hunted and killed an animal. But, he surely hunted after good real estate. There are nine cities listed in Genesis 10 attributed to him. And the man picked some prime real estate to build the greatest sandcastle of his day, what is commonly referred to as  the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:9).

In essence Nimrod said: “I will build a tower to reach the heavens. Just let God send another flood this way. I’ll teach Him. We’ll build a tower higher than God’s floodwaters can ever reach. Who needs the Lord and His protection?”

Jesus knows all things. He knew about this innate tendency within us to build sandcastles. You see, building them is easy for us. The material is plentiful, easily obtained, cheap and the results appear before our eyes almost instantaneously.

Unfortunately, the building of God’s kingdom does not work this way. God’s kingdom is not propagated with sand, but with three principle ingredients – faith, hope and love:

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Galatians 5:6

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. I Corinthians 13:13

And all three are invisible with only their aftereffects to show evidence of their presence. It is said that the Apostle Paul gauged a church’s maturity and spirituality using these three criteria. How strong is their faith, how deep is their hope and how pure is their love? These things are priceless. Jesus desires his people to move beyond the sandcastle business and into the business of things eternal:

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:27-28

Some Sandbox Rules

Building sandcastles and playing in a sandbox is a regulated industry. Within the sandbox are rules and regulations to follow.

Here is a list of the important ones:

1.  Play nice. Consider who you are playing with and who invited you here.
2. Stay on your side of the line and don’t play in my sand. Play in your own sand.
3. Don’t ever wreck or touch my work and sand creations. And I won’t touch yours either.
4. Never, never, never offend me by throwing sand, especially in my eyes!

Does something sound familiar here? We grow older in this life, but the rules of engagement do not seem to change. Maybe it is only this blogger, but we sometimes find ourselves playing by rules forged early in life. Sandbox rules. May the Lord help us grow up and to look up:

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. I Corinthians 13:11

Built Upon A Rock

Most are familiar of the parable Jesus spoke concerning the foundation material upon which one builds their house:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Matthew 7:24-25

Jesus came to this earth not to deal with its sand, Jesus came to this earth with the distinct intention of dealing with souls. Jesus came with the anticipation of life waiting to happen – abundant life. How we fall so short sometimes in realizing God’s expectations of us and how we fall short in realizing our expectations of God. There was one man in particular mentioned in the Bible who “got it”. His name was Abraham.

Abraham was a man of faith. He simply believed God was who He said he was. And Abraham trusted Him. In fact his trust was so sure that he offered his only son Isaac upon an altar with the expectation that God would raise him from the dead if needed (Genesis 22:2). That is pure faith. Abraham’s faith did not end there. Abraham was not looking for a castle made of and  in sand. He was looking for a castle that would stand the test of time. He was looking for a castle where God was not only the architect, but God was also the ditch digger:

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:8, 10

A city built on rock and not sand.

My Own Sandcastle

In conclusion, we must ask ourselves what am I building my hope and trust in this life on and where am I building it? A simple thought, but with profound repercussions. What foundation am I building my house upon? Sand or rock? We can claim many things as our own, but there is only one reference in the Holy Bible that mentions the true owner of God’s church on earth. Who is it? It’s found right here:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

The Apostle Paul referred to many things as “My”: Gospel, Service, Helpers, Life, Kinsmen, Fellowprisoners, God, Brethren, Ways, Spirit, Work, Will, Liberty, Understanding, Soul, Joy, Children, Conversation, Body, Prayers, Record, Bonds, and Doctrine. Paul never penned the words “My Church”.

Jesus is the only one to refer to the church as “Mine”.  God’s church is His mighty fortress on the earth. The opening scripture shows the enemy’s strategy to point attention to kingdoms made of and built upon “sand” – sandcastles. What castle am I building today, the one on earth or the one forged upon ‘The Rock’ Christ Jesus spanning both earth and heaven?