On building things that last…

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of creating. I just haven’t been able to get over the idea that something, like the album I’m listening to or the handmade mug I am drinking my coffee out of, used not to exist, and now it does. Someone had an idea, they put forth the effort, and they brought it into being. 

My youngest daughter had a birthday this week, and when you talk to her about events that happened before she was born, you can almost see the wheels turning as she has to wrap her mind around the fact that there was a time when she didn’t exist, but now she does! God thought she was a really good idea, I tell her, and he just had to make her!

It’s incredible to realize that one of the ways we are made in the image of God is that we have the power to create like our Creator. We can build a block tower, build a business, build a family, build a house, construct a work of art. Every day we are building something- with our hands, with our words, even with our thoughts.

The act of creating may be a worthwhile endeavor in itself, but the Bible tells us that what we actually produce (our “fruit”) matters, as does the manner in which we build it, and what we build it on. 

The story of the tower of Babel was always one of the most startling stories in the Bible to me. It was hard for me, initially, to understand why a human accomplishment could evoke such disapproval, ire even, from God. The God I know delights in his children. I’ve sometimes thought of him as a proud parent who would gladly display his children’s works of art, however elementary, prominently on his refrigerator if he had one. Why, then, could he not allow that tower to stand, and why did he need to shake things up enough to show his children that what was going on there should not happen again?

It comes down to one thing: a bad foundation.

The purpose the people had for building this tower was faulty, according to God’s perspective. “So that we can make a name for ourselves,” they said, and “reach the heavens.” Doesn’t it sound like a repeat of the Fall? This was not a work of art crafted lovingly with the intent of offering it as a gift to a parent. This was an act of defiance. This tower was being built on the foundation of pride, on the idea that we can take care of ourselves, thank-you-very-much. No God required.

Jesus doesn’t force himself on anyone. He made it clear during his earthly ministry that he didn’t come for the people who thought they were fine without him. He came for those who are willing to admit they need him. You and I have grown up in a society that says dependence is a bad thing. But think about it: is a newborn baby to be looked down upon for being utterly dependent upon its parent? Of course not! It is treasured and adored with a sense of incredible wonder. Its needs are met with delight and attentiveness, and this solidifies the bond between parent and child. It is a beautiful thing, and entirely essential for life. Yes, a good human parent will prepare a child to eventually step out into the world, but if the parent has been wise and reliable and kind, the child will still return for guidance, friendship and love even when they are grown. They’ve built a foundation for a lifelong relationship.

Jesus talked about foundations, too, and what he taught reveals both the wisdom and the compassion God has toward us builder-people. He implored his followers to build on solid rock, not on shifting sand. This is not because he worries we might succeed in outshining him or in proving our self-sufficiency. No, he lovingly warns us not to build on the wrong things because he knows that what we build on faulty foundations will fall apart!

The past couple of years, as the world has dealt with a global pandemic, we’ve experienced some of the cornerstones of our society crumble in ways that caught us off guard. Things foundational to how we live our lives got shaken, and it shook us up, too. Of course we need to live our lives, to work, go to school, interact with others, create rhythms, and build systems and structures in order to function. But the Bible is clear that the only reliable and lasting foundation is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 3:11, Mt. 7:24-27, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Ephesians 2:20).

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

1 Peter 2:6

It sounds wild, doesn’t it, to build your life on a person and a faith that you cannot see, instead of building it on the things around you that you can see? But this is the marvelous truth of his gloriously upside-down kingdom! It says in 1 Peter 2 that the one who trusts in Jesus as the sole foundation will never be put to shame. Peter was referencing an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, where it says it a different way: “the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.”

Maybe you experience worrisome thoughts that keep you up at night. Perhaps you’ve already lived a portion of your worst fears. But what if even the most earth-shattering events that could happen didn’t shake you? What if you already had a good grasp on the fact that those things weren’t going to last forever, and you had chosen to place all your stock in something altogether different and utterly unshakeable? Sure, the storms of life might hurt still when they come, but you’d know even the pain was temporary, and you would never be stricken with panic.

You and I would never stand by in silence while someone we loved stepped out onto a rickety platform we knew was about to collapse. Neither will God. He doesn’t want to see his children scrambling to save everything they’ve worked for as it crumbles before their eyes because it was built on sand. He wants to scoop you up before your foundation breaks and set you on solid rock. Then you can go ahead and build- with him, for him. And it will stand.

What have you been working to build with your life? Is it something that’s going to last, not just for a generation or two, but into eternity? Is it built on Jesus Christ?

God delights in his children. He loves to watch us grow, play, create, and build. But he wants us to invest our lives in things that are worthwhile, things that will endure. Because what we’re building isn’t just refrigerator art. It’s what we’re resting our future on, and maybe the future of others, as well. One day the whole world will finally be turned right-side-up, and we will see that he really was the only reliable foundation.

**If you’d like to find out more about what the Bible says we can do that will last for eternity, grab my free printable!