Brick foundations. They look good, and they work very well.
Most importantly, a good brick foundation lifts our house above the surrounding soil. Termites can’t reach our wood superstructure. Rising water can flow right past us. Building on a solid brick foundation is the only way to construct our lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us:
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
Our fellow Christians are the bricks that make up our foundations in Christ. They are placed in our lives one brick at a time, one friendly greeting at a time, and one Sunday lunch at a time. Throw a Super Bowl party, invite our Sunday school class, and believe it or not, we’ll become more closely bonded to our fellow Christians, becoming bricks firmly wedged under each other to support our Christian walk when the water begins to rise around us.
Here’s what the Bible says about laying our brick foundations.
James 1:27 tells us what our bricks are made of.
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Our bricks must be of the highest quality. Otherwise, they will crumble in times of stress. We are lifting up other people. They depend on us to support them in their times of need. We cannot afford to be weak in our walk with Christ.
Luke 10:27 gives us the mortar that holds our bricks one against another:
“And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
One brick isn’t enough to build a good foundation. Even a truckload just dumped on the ground will be no more than a pile of bricks. Stack them without mortar, and the slightest push will knock the over. Our bricks must be solid, and our mortar must be of the very best quality. Then our lives will withstand the harshest of weather, and we will come through every time.
When we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow Christians, we become stronger than we were before.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.H.09.15c.vp.esv
Originally Published 12-10-15 in Relationships