The wealth of the nations are as bricks of mud. For man builds, and structure grows, shelter given with extra structure that more bricks be stored. Necessary for a time, but without lasting value, and once given to use, will one day again join with the earth. The fortress of mud is important as the hands that form the brick, but the fortress is not the treasure, nor the provision guarded within. Those with many and those with little, return not from death to retrieve what is of earth, for the true reward awaits them already, and all the bricks of the earth seen from eternity are as the great ruins of kings long forgotten. The reward of the Kingdom of God is not comparable to the rewards of the kingdoms of men – like a pool of mud to the oceans, as a dripping faucet to the mighty rivers. Regard not loss or gain of this world to be tightly grasped as sand slips from the grip of all men, lost then completely when the hand grasps no more. You who have been given new life given freely by the Son, collect what you must of the bricks, but do not exhaust your life to the collection. My Word in the end burns the brick, the hay and the stubble of the longings of earthly men, and reveals the great eternal works of love and faith that do not perish, and time does not erode. To these come the reward of the Father, and great is that reward. You have received forgiveness for this end, do not squander the gift of life and My Word of instruction. Man must build from bricks for a time, but seek more than mud while in mud, for the treasures of God are produced there as well.
1 Corinthians 3:12-16 (NIV)
If anyone builds on this foundation (the foundation Paul is talking about here is the salvation we receive when we repent of our sins and make Jesus our Lord) 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 (of reward) but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Bottom Line: Off to work we must go. It is the single biggest investment of our time, and it is a necessity. We may feel like we are in the brick pits of Egypt toiling away, but never really getting very far ahead. Whether we have little or much of the world’s treasures from our work, in the end it is the eternal “good works” that He will be counting. The big question is how much will we have to show Him? He has granted many of us a “second chance” at life, a new life in the gift of the cross. Then he has given His Word and His Spirit within us so that we know what really matters to Him. Do we go back to making and collecting bricks of mud, or does our focus change to the real value of our time on earth? Most of us have to go back to making bricks today, it’s our job, but let’s make something more eternal in the process.
