Building on the Right Foundation

I've asked several chronologically gifted people in my life if they ever come to the place where they don't feel like life is under construction. The simple answer in return has always been, "No." But one person did add something. "And thank God."

As we talked more about it he helped me understand that being under construction has everything to do with living. Death means construction is done and while for a Christ follower that means the completion of the journey, arrival at the desired destination. All of life up to that point has been about shaping and molding, renewing and growing into the image of Christ.

Romans 12:1-2 (New Living) "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-- the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."

I picked up a book on my desk, opening it this morning to a page that seemed to leap out at me. It's from Eugene Peterson's "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction." Peterson is the translator of "The Message" which we often use at Cornerstone. The book goes through the Psalms of Ascent, used by the Jews as they journeyed to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. Peterson writes about one of the prayers: "Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue."

"Rescue me from the lies of advertisers who claim to know what I need and what I desire, from the lies of entertainers who promise a cheap way to joy, from the lies of politicians who pretend to instruct me in power and morality, from the lies of psychologists who offer to shape my behavior and my morals so that I will live long, happily and successfully, from the lies of religionists who 'heal the wounds of this people lightly,' from the lies of moralists who pretend to promote me to the office of captain of my fate, from the lies of pastors who 'leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men' (Mk 7:8). Rescue me from the person who tells me of life and omits Christ, who is wise in the ways of the world and ignores the movement of the Spirit." (p. 23)

This is a great prayer for those who want to build on the right foundation. It's so easy to get sucked into lies - "Rescue me, LORD!" is the cry of the kingdom builder. Every lie takes a stone out of the foundation. Every truth puts one back and shores it up. Every lie is like the wind and the waves crashing against our lives. Every truth anchors us to the rock - the Rock.

What are the lies that you've believed?
Where have you found truth, as painful as it may be to hear?
Do you need to be rescued right now from some lies/liars?

Peterson goes on to write:

"The lies are impeccably factual. They contain no errors. There are no distortions or falsified data. But they are lies all the same because they claim to tell us who we are and omit everything about our origin in God and our destiny in God. They talk about the world without telling us that God made it. They tell us about our bodies without telling us that they are temples of the Holy Spirit. They instruct us in love without telling us about the God who loves us and gave Himself for us."

To build the right foundation; to live a kingdom life means looking through the lens of God instead of at God through another lens - the lens of the world. God is the center, not us. May it be so.