Tested By Fire
"Sprinklers, limestone plaster, frame repellant window gel, and a hand-poured concrete basement. This is what Chris Arai used to withstand the fires.
"Wildfires have burnt thousands of California homes to the ground in recent years.
"Engineer Chris Arai has spent more than 15 years fireproofing his Sonoma County home, outfitting it with a gas-powered sprinkler system, flame-repellant window gel, and a concrete basement he poured by hand.
"When the Kincade Fire ripped through Arai's rural community last year, the engineer's home was the only one that survived the blaze."
Chris went to great lengths to fire-proof his home. While many scrambled as the wildfires crept closer, since he was well prepared, his home was able to withstand the fire that destroyed his neighbor's home.
How will the life you've built stand up to the fire that's coming when God tests the quality of what you've done?
"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work" (1 Corinthians 3:11-13, NIV).
Roller Coaster Lines
I love roller coasters. I have all of my life. There is something great about the thrill of being slowly pulled up that first hill and waiting in great anticipation for the first stomach wrenching drop. Waiting in line is a job, picking the correct line, watching to see how many people are in front of you. Wondering why some people in front of you seem hesitant, holding back when there is clearly room for them to move up. Getting close enough to begin counting how many times the cars must be loaded and unloaded before it is your turn. Then the inevitable choice as to where to sit. In the front to get the best view, in the back to get the best ride. In the middle to get on more quickly. The closer I get the more the excited and enthusiasm rises.
However, the story is quite different for my wife. She is terrified of roller coasters. The few times I have convinced her to ride one, she was filled with nothing but fear. The closer we got, the more nervous she became. She was one of those who didn't want to move when the line opened up in front of us. I raised my hands in exhilarating excitement, while my wife held on for dear life.
We are all waiting in line to face the next stage of existence. The closer we get to the end of our lives, the more we begin to anticipate what awaits us. For the Christian, getting closer stirs our faith. We approach death with confidence in the promises of God and in the hope of the glory that awaits us.
But for the nonbeliever, it's a different experience. The closer they get to life's final ride, the more they're filled with fear and apprehension. The believer raises his hands in exhilarating excitement, but the lost man holds on for dear life.
"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:54).
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).
The Hall of Fame for Second Chances
Christian author Michael Scrogin writes:
We have Halls of Fame all over this country. There's one in Canton, Ohio, for football; one in Springfield, Massachusetts, for basketball; there's one in Cooperstown, New York, for baseball. We have a Halls of Fame for all sorts of sports, and we're forever electing aging athletes to these institutions. Speeches are made in their honor as we give them awards.
If it were up to me to make the decisions, I would have a different sort of Hall of Fame. I would have a Hall of Fame of those who have given and those who have received second and third and 13th chances. This hall would be huge and it would be filled mostly with the names of those who had made it against all odds. I would have a section dedicated especially to those who had been arrested or imprisoned and who later, when they were released, straightened out their lives and didn't go back.
I would set aside an entire wall for recovering alcoholics, who'd been up against a devastating disease, who’d hit bottom, but who'd climbed back out. I’d set aside one whole building for teenagers because every teenager needs at least 100 second chances.
All those who come to God in faith are inducted into just such a Hall of Fame. When we stand before the Bema Seat of Christ, we’ll all be handed our “awards” from the God of Second Chances!
“If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved--even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
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