Holding Nothing Worthless
1 Corinthians 3: 10 – 15
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
God’s mercy is available to all. Even the worst of sinners can turn to Him in their final moments and receive salvation. While this truth is precious, we must also recognize that our lives matter and what we do with them counts. If we are saved, we will not come under a judgment of condemnation (John 3:18) for our sins are forgiven and under the blood. Our foundation is firm, for it is the works of Christ. There will however be an evaluation of how we lived and what we did. What we built on top of the foundation of Christ will be tested and rewarded accordingly.
While the scriptures above present both extremes, most of us are aware that we hold both the precious and the mundane, the eternal and the earthly. There are aspects of our life that will reap a reward, yet there are others that we would sooner forget. This is the wisdom and freedom of the Lord’s judgment. He generously rewards all that is of Him and removes all that is not. He will eradicate all that is worldly, worthless and outside of His divine purpose. None of us will be left holding for eternity something that we regret, wrongly pursued or mistakenly entertained. All wood, hay, and stubble, will be consumed by the gaze of our Lord. Nothing will remain that cannot be celebrated. No self-centered endeavor or work of the flesh will be forever ours. There will be nothing left that could bring us shame. There will be no incident that we wish never happened. We will not retain any misadventure that was less than the full purpose of God for our life.
The Lord, through the words of Paul, encourages us to build well and to live for eternity for He is by nature a rewarder (Hebrews 11:6). When He returns, His reward will be with Him (Revelation 22:12). He will examine all that we do and reward us according to our works. On that day, nothing will compare with the awareness of His pleasure regarding what we pursued and the life that we lived. For all eternity will we have the joy of His reward for all our earthly endeavors.
On the flip side, some of us are aware of moments we are not proud of, actions we wish we could undo, or years spent living for ourselves and wasting on earthly pursuits. These things won’t be rewarded, but neither will they be a part of our eternal existence. The Lord who rewards everything that is of Him, also removes everything that is not. We will not be left holding anything worthless as we enter into the glory and joy of eternity.
