I Cor 3:-15 NKJV
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Jesus is the Foundation (this in itself is something I want to do a word study on – Foundation).
Verse 12 caught me off guard… “… if anyone builds on this foundation…”. IF? How does one not build on the Foundation of Christ (assuming we’re talking about believers). The rest of the verse goes on to say that IF we build, it could be out of a varied and assortment of materials… each of which will be tested by fire.
But I go back to “if”… I’m a little unsettled, quite honestly and I’m not quite sure what to do with it.
Verse 15 says that if what I build on the foundation doesn’t survive the fire, I will suffer great loss, but will escape the fire. I wonder if the “great loss” is the realization of how much time I wasted, not building those things that would survive. The epiphany of all the “for not” time I could have been using to further His Kingdom, His Name and His renown? I think that would be a “great loss” in the end… to know how much more I could have done.
It reminds me of the end of Schindler’s List when Oscar Schindler, realizes that the gold ring he was wearing could have saved 1 or two more Jews from execution and the car he was driving could have saved more, and all of a sudden, he realized he could have done even more than he already did.
I don’t want that realization when it’s over, although it’s inevitable. As Richard says, the best time to have done it was 20 years ago. The next best time is right now.