1Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, you aren’t ready even now, 3for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?
5Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave to him? 6I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. 7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
10According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. 11For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. 14If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. 15If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
16Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” 20And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.” 21Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, 23and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Tested by Fire
12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each man's work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man's work is. 14 If any man's work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
It is a sobering thought that we are only given one life to live. If we are still enough to be contemplative, the questions that plague us are "what am I doing with this life? Why am I here? What should I be doing? Will I make a difference?" These questions cause men and women to head into all sorts of directions. We go to school. We plan our careers. We wrestle with whether or not we are doing the "right thing". These are all great questions and we should indeed ask ourselves these things. But, we should make sure that the answers that come to us are biblical. There is the great temptation to try to fill our basic needs with what we do. And in time, that which we do can dangerously become who we think we are. What do I mean by that?
Within each of us are three basic needs. We all have the need to be loved and accepted. Secondly, we have the need to feel that we have value and worth, and we all want to fit in. We want to have an identity. Anytime we try to fill any of those three needs with a person, a possession, or an accomplishment it will ALWAYS end in frustration and conflict. It is important that we remember that at the end of time we will be held accountable for not only what we did but for the motivation behind doing it. The Lord is interested in both. I think He will want us to see how He intended for us to live our lives compared to how we ended up living our lives. Don't worry. Don't feel panicked. I think we will all fall short of His expectations for us.
But the reality is that however we've built our lives, whether it be on a foundation of "gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw" it will be put to the fire test. If what we do what is part of what He planned for us to do from the foundations of the world (Eph 2:10), and if our motivation was rightfully because of our love for Him and what He did for us, then when that work passes through the fire, it will remain. It is permanent. It is godly work. Today, as you live your life, ask God to show you where your efforts need to be directed. Is there something you don't need to be doing at present. Put it away. Is there something you need to be doing? Pick that up and do it. Paul does tell us that if there is a lot that we've done in the flesh instead of in the Spirit that we should never fear that we've somehow lost the gift of salvation. If all that you did was all about you, then it will all be burned up, but you'll still be saved "as through fire". God's mercies are new every morning. He is faithful and He is just. May we each pray that our motivations would be pure and that our work would be permanent.