Christian Building
Building has become a serious business in recent years in NZ, with the discovery of a large number of ‘leaky homes’ around the country and more recently the tragic collapse of the CTV building during the Christchurch earthquake.

Building in the Christian life is also a serious business as the apostle Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 where he tells us that Jesus Christ is the foundation of our building and as Christians we need to be careful how we build. Are we building with the precious items of gold, silver and costly stones which can stand the test of fire or are we building with rubbish like wood, hay or straw which can be burned up? In v.14 we are even told that there is a future reward for believers who build with the right materials.

Now, the only problem with this passage is that we are not told what the gold, silver, etc represent but I think we can get a clue from certain emphases in other parts of the Bible.

For example, in chapter 13 v.4-8 of this same epistle, Paul talks about the attributes of sacrificial ‘agape’ love and how important it is to demonstrate this in our Christian life. As one example, could this represent the gold, silver or costly stones? What other things can we do as Christians to ensure that we are building with those costly materials?

Graeme Abbott
NZ Agent, Open Bible Trust