The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord… For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
I Corinthians 3:11
Man-on-the-street time: Ask ten people who Jesus is/was and the answers are fairly predictable: Great teacher, prophet, supreme moral example, Savior, Lord.
What they are really saying
is, “This is who Jesus is to me,” and in our culture, you don’t touch that one
with a ten-foot pole because it’s all about “what is truth for you may not be
truth for me”… unless you believe the Bible. According to the words of the hymn
and borne out by Scripture, Jesus is the foundation of the church.
You and I may have different
points-of-view regarding a building’s foundation, but our opinion doesn’t
matter. It is what it is, and what it is determines everything else that goes
on with that building. In the construction of any building, the foundation is laid
first. If you decide to up-date, stream-line or completely overhaul the
foundation, you will end up with either another building or no building at
all—just a pile of rubble.
Why is this convenient
truth? Because we live in a society where the choices are endless and, if the
rules really apply fairly, our freedom to make our subjective choice—to choose
to live with and for Christ—is equally as valid as any. We don’t need to spend our time and energy
trying to convince people that we are right and they are wrong. As we lean into
the foundation laid in Jesus Christ, we learn the truth, we speak the truth, we
live the truth. Our job is to live as a witness, not a prosecutor.
The future of a building
cannot be predicted by the degree of aesthetic beauty or apparent integrity it possesses
during or after construction. It is only when the building has been completed,
used for its intended purpose and endured some storms and high winds that its
true strength is revealed.
Nancy Shirah
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