Mtr Kelli Joyce
Friends in Christ,
It must be a sign of God’s providence that the lectionary readings for Tuesdays keep providing me with the chance to write on some of my very favorite passages of scripture. (Or perhaps just a sign that I’m a big nerd about the Bible, and have quite a few “very favorite” passages!) Either way, I absolutely love today’s epistle reading from Paul’s first letter to the Christians of Corinth.
“No one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.”
When I was a kid, I wondered why we needed to worry about doing good things, if Jesus was going to get us into heaven by grace no matter what. This passage helps explain some. It’s not that we need to earn our way into heaven, of course. (There is no points system! It’s grace all the way down!) But God does care how we live our lives - we’re called to “sanctification,” which is the process of becoming more like Christ. When it’s all said and done, we will be tried as by fire. The hay and straw of our selfishness and cruelty and indifference will be burned up, and the holy and loving parts of us will pass through unscathed.
Sanctification - doing what’s right, and seeking to grow into more faithful people - isn’t what saves us. Christ is the sure foundation. We will be saved because of what he did, not because of what we do or don’t do. But we choose what we’ll do with that gift, and with that security. We choose what kinds of lives and selves we want to build. May we pray for guidance and courage to build in righteousness and justice.
In peace,
Mtr. Kelli