In our Bible study yesterday, we were encouraged by the truth that followers of Christ will not face condemnation when we stand before Christ. It's true; the blood of Jesus covers us and offers us the mercy and grace of God instead of judgment. There is another element to consider when we stand before God one day, however. One day, we will be rewarded based on how we lived our lives here on this earth. This, my friends, gives us motivation to make every moment count.
In 1st Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul explained to His readers that all Christ followers will be judged one day and rewarded for how they lived their lives. First, he reminded readers that the foundation for every single Christ follower’s faith is Christ Jesus. Then, he explained that when we make Christ known and serve Him, we are building on that foundation. We can use various materials to build on that foundation, Paul wrote, like "gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw," but it is ultimately Christ who determines the value of the foundation that we laid by the ways we honored Christ and made Him known around us (verses 12-13). "Fire," Paul wrote, "will reveal what kind of work each builder has done" on judgment day (verse 13). Paul continued this teaching, saying, "If the work survives, the builder will receive a reward, but if the work is burned up, the builder…will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames" (verses 14-15). The work that Paul describes here is the work of honoring God and sharing the hope of Christ around us. If we make the most of every moment and live for Christ and make Him known, then we will be rewarded accordingly.
I'm not sure about you, but I want to live my life with purpose, making the most of every moment. I want to use my life to spread the name of Jesus, making Him known far and wide. We will stand before God one day and be judged based on how we lived for Him. Let's make the most of every moment that God gives us to honor Him and share His message with others.
Take a moment to reflect on how you are living your life each day. Take some time to journal your responses to the following questions: Are you living with eternity in mind? How is there room for improvement when it comes to living with eternity in mind? After answering these questions, write down one way you can grow and commit to living with eternity in mind every day.
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,
“He traps the wise
in the snare of their own cleverness.”
20 And again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise;
he knows they are worthless.”
21 So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you— 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Peter,[f] or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
