Each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
—1 CORINTHIANS 3:10–11
God buries His workmen but carries on His work.
—CHARLES WESLEY
Young people never see themselves as growing old. They are caught up in the age of youthfulness, bursting with excitement that energizes their hopes and dreams. I can recall those days. In the late thirties, I was a nineteen-year-old student at Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity College) located on the outskirts of Tampa. I, along with some other students, met an aged evangelist by the name of Judson W. Van DeVenter. He had ministered with J. Wilbur Chapman (who had traveled and preached with D. L. Moody and later became a mentor to Billy Sunday). Mr. Van DeVenter taught hymnology at the school and wrote many notable songs such as “I Surrender All” and “Saved Through Jesus’ Blood.”
Mr. Van DeVenter had some orange groves in the Sunshine State, and when he could no longer work, the young fellows at the school went to pick the fruit before the frost fell. We found ourselves looking after the elderly preacher. I remember how appreciative he was when the younger guys would lend a helping hand. He benefited from our labor, and while we never imagined being that old and may not have understood at the time, we drew from his example. Such encounters contribute to life’s foundation.
J. W. Van DeVenter died in Temple Terrace, Florida, in 1939 at age eighty-four. As an energetic Bible student, I could not imagine living that long and needing the level of care that he required. It seemed he could do little for himself. Now that I am ninety-two, my gratitude for Mr. Van DeVenter is deeper. Respect for others grows as we ourselves become dependent upon others. Looking back on providing for Mr. Van DeVenter gives me a greater appreciation for those who so lovingly care for me today. I can only hope in my senior state that I am building bridges for those following behind me as I encourage them on the roads they travel.
For those of us nearing home, our steps may indeed be slow, but they need not be without purpose. Younger generations follow us on our last mile of the way. What does that tell us? We are still leading. But are we leading victoriously? Are we paving the way for those who follow in our footsteps? Perhaps we should even ask ourselves, “Are our footsteps worth following?” The answer is yes if we are following the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ and our bridges are built on the solid rock of His foundation. He alone lifts our cares and lightens our burdens.
SHIFTING FOUNDATION OR SURE FOUNDATION
No one escapes life without difficulties. Some experience bad health even in their youth. Some born into wealth lose everything. Some seek love and find only rejection time and again. Without a firm foundation, life’s load is harder to bear. God has a purpose for each of us, and He desires that we build upon Him, the very foundation He has put in place. Scripture speaks of craftsmen fastening the work of their hands with pegs “that it might not totter” (Isaiah 41:7 NKJV). When Christ’s hands were pierced by spikes and fastened to the cross, He became our secure foundation. D. L. Moody once said, “Give your life to Christ: He can do more with it than you can.”
Recently I heard about a family who built a house several years ago in the Appalachian Mountains not far from our home. The site was on a hillside with a beautiful view overlooking the nearby valley and facing a range of mountains in the distance. After they drew their plans and chose their builder, the project proceeded on schedule, and some months later their new house was completed. They were delighted with the result and soon were settled into the home of their dreams.
But after a year or so, their dream turned into a nightmare. The first hint of trouble was a slight depression in the soil around a certain section of the foundation; then as time went on, the depression deepened and cracks began to appear in the walls of the house. They became alarmed and called in a structural engineer to investigate. He discovered that part of the concrete for the foundation had been poured over a pit filled with debris—old tree stumps, loose rocks, even wood left over from their construction project. As this wood decayed, the ground gave way, and the walls began to shift, making the whole house dangerously unstable. Whether by ignorance or neglect, the contractor had built their house on a defective foundation, and his error proved both costly and time-consuming to correct.
Just as this house needed a solid foundation, so we need a solid foundation for our lives—an unchanging system of beliefs, goals, and moral values that will keep us stable and secure, even in the midst of life’s storms. No matter our age, nothing prepares us for the future like a solid moral and spiritual foundation based on God’s will for our lives.
As I was reviewing this chapter, the world learned of a 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami that devastated parts of northern Japan, causing thousands of deaths and even slightly shifting the earth’s axis. I was grieved by the suffering and loss of those who survived, and my first reaction was to pray for them and ask God to help us assist them in whatever ways we could. My son Franklin immediately went to the affected area and began working with Japanese churches to bring aid to those whose lives had been turned upside down by the disaster.
I couldn’t help but think of those who had once lived there and now had lost everything. They had built their houses on what they assumed were secure foundations; living in an earthquake-prone area, many probably had taken extra precautions. But when the ground suddenly shifted beneath their feet and the tsunami’s massive wall of water rushed across their land, those foundations crumbled, leading to one of the greatest natural disasters in recent memory.
Terrible events like this remind us of what can happen if we build our lives on the wrong foundation—on one that may seem adequate in normal times but can’t withstand life’s stresses and strains. Tragically, however, many people never stop to think about this or examine the foundations on which they are building their lives. They assume they are on the right road and their foundations will always be secure. For some the foundation may be self-indulgence or pleasure or entertainment. Others build upon financial success or social position. Still others think that if they can only find the right person . . . or discover the ideal place to live . . . or clinch the best-paying job . . . then they will always be happy and secure.
But in their quiet moments they may wonder if it’s really true. Perhaps a personal crisis—an unexpected illness, the rebellion of a child, a financial reversal—reveals the foundation for what it really is: unstable and insecure. Or perhaps they finally reach their goals and achieve all they have ever wanted—only to discover success has left them empty and restless and bored. They find themselves saying with the writer of Ecclesiastes,
When I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (2:11)
Their hopes and dreams are shattered, leaving them confused and disillusioned and wondering what went wrong. Maybe this has happened to you.
When we build on shaky foundations, problems will come. This is certainly true when we replace Christ with other things: we put ourselves first—our dreams, our ambitions, our hopes, our goals, our appearance, our health, our possessions. We may even experience a measure of happiness and contentment for a time. “After all,” we say to ourselves, “isn’t this what life is all about? Isn’t this the way we’re supposed to live? Isn’t this the way everyone else is living—or at least trying to live?” But sooner or later the shaky foundation is revealed for what it really is. Then troubles come (as they inevitably do), cracks appear, and the foundation starts to crumble. Sadly, we become like the man in Jesus’ parable “who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26–27).
Why is it that money, success, and pleasure bring no lasting satisfaction? Why don’t they provide us with a solid foundation for successful living, especially as we grow older? Because they ignore one of life’s greatest truths: we don’t have just bodies and minds, but we also have souls, also called spirits. If we ignore this truth—if we feed our bodies but starve our souls—our lives will be incomplete and unfulfilled, and we will find ourselves weak and unprepared for life’s inevitable challenges. Sooner or later the storms of life will overwhelm us, and we will discover that we have built our lives on foundations of sand.
Still it’s easy to focus only on physical well-being or emotional happiness as we prepare for the future; we are bombarded with messages about them all the time. Financial advisors suggest that all we need to do to prepare for the future is to make the right investments. Health experts urge us to eat the right foods and take the right vitamins and get the right exercise so we will be healthy and happy and well liked. Publishers and TV infomercials promote a steady stream of products offering the latest advice on gaining success or overcoming life’s problems or keeping old age at bay. Even cosmetics companies get into the act, claiming their products will turn back the clock and make us look younger. I read recently that Americans spend almost sixty billion dollars a year on antiaging products—a sum that is expected to increase 10 percent a year into the foreseeable future.
It is not necessarily wrong to be concerned about some of these things, of course. We should save for the future, and we should take care of our physical bodies and emotional health. But is this all it takes to prepare for the future?
The answer is no; even the securest financial plan and the finest health care aren’t enough to hold us steady when the challenges come. Will a full bank account satisfy you when disability takes away your freedom or death robs you of someone you love? Will robust health shield you against the storms of loneliness or grief or financial insecurity that often besiege us as the aging process advances? Jesus said, “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25). We need something more, something deeper and unshakable, something that will see us through life’s hard times. We need a solid foundation beneath our lives—a foundation that will give us strength and stability no matter what happens. And the time to build it is now.
God does not want us to drift aimlessly through life, desperately seeking happiness and security and peace—but never finding them. Nor does He want us to build our lives on an unstable or impermanent foundation. God has already provided the foundation we need!
When Ruth and I were planning to build our home many years ago, a friend of ours offered to have an engineer he knew evaluate our building site, which we gladly welcomed. His tests revealed that under certain conditions the soil where we were planning to build might shift after a period of prolonged rain. At his recommendation the builder dug down through the surface soil to the bedrock and poured concrete pilings to make our house stable and secure. It proved to be the right solution.
We need a foundation that is as solid as that bedrock. Only God can provide it. Jesus Christ is the bedrock on which we need to build our lives. As we commit our lives to Him and grow in our relationship with Him, we discover He truly is the solid foundation we need. Every other foundation proves false. The Bible says, “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself” (Ephesians 2:20 NLT).
CHRIST, THE SURE FOUNDATION
Why should we build our lives on Christ? The first reason is because of who He is. Jesus Christ wasn’t just a great religious teacher who walked on earth some two thousand years ago. The Bible says He was far more than that: He was God in human flesh. This is what we celebrate every Christmas—and this is what we should celebrate every day of our lives. The Bible tells us that on that first Christmas, God did something you and I can barely imagine: He came down from Heaven and became a man. That man was Jesus, who was both fully divine and fully human.
Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus, for He was God in human flesh. The Bible says, “He is the image of the invisible God. . . . For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 1:15; 2:9). The proof was His resurrection from the dead, which confirmed not only His victory over sin and death and Satan and Hell but also the truth of His divine nature. His teachings aren’t just the musings of a profound philosopher or religious teacher; they are God’s message to us. His deeds of mercy weren’t just the actions of a particularly compassionate individual; they were a demonstration of God’s love and concern for each one of us.
Second, Christ should be our foundation because of what He did for us. Our greatest need is to be reconciled to God and become part of His family—but one insurmountable barrier stands in the way, and that is our sin. Sin separates us from God and brings us under His judgment, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot erase our sins by our own efforts. We are alienated from God and guilty in His holy eyes. The prophet Isaiah said, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (59:2). Only God can take away our sins; He made this possible by sending His only Son into the world to die for us. Because He was divine, Jesus Christ was without sin. But on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and by His death He took upon Himself the judgment and Hell we deserve. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves, and now He freely offers us the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life if we will accept them. As Paul reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Think of it: God now offers you the free gift of salvation—free because Jesus Christ has already paid the price for it.
When we come to Him and trust Him alone for our salvation, God forgives our sins, and we become reconciled to Him forever. He also comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit and adopts us into His family as His sons and daughters. And because we now belong to Him, we will be with Him in Heaven someday. In the meantime He is with us every moment of the day, to the very end of our earthly journey.
It is never too late to begin building your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ and His will for your life, “for no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). Is He the foundation of your life?
LIFE’S GREATEST DECISION
The first action a builder takes as he starts the actual construction of a new building is laying its foundation. He knows that if he skips that step, or if he fails to construct it properly, then that building—no matter how beautiful or impressive it may appear on the outside—is fatally flawed and simply will not last. Sooner or later it will weaken and collapse.
However, before he begins construction or even sets foot on the property, something else must first take place. That something is a decision—a personal commitment by the owner—to build the building. And this must be our first step. We all want a happy and secure life; we all want a solid and lasting foundation beneath us. But wishful thinking is not enough! We need to make a decision—a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and His will for our lives.
Have you committed your life to Jesus Christ? No matter how young or old you are, are you seeking to build your life on Him? The most important decision you will ever make is to give your life to Christ and become His follower. Don’t wait until life’s storms begin to batter you; then it may be too late. Open your heart and life to Him now. “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
If you have never invited Jesus Christ to come into your life, or if you are unsure of your salvation, I invite you to pause right now and ask Him to come into your life, to forgive you, and to save you—and He will. To help you make this commitment, I urge you to pray the following prayer right now (or something similar in your own words):
O God, I know I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sins, and I want to turn from them. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior, I confess Him as my Lord, and I invite Him to come into my life today. From this moment on, I want to make Him the foundation of my life and to serve Him and follow Him in the fellowship of His church. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.
If you sincerely prayed this prayer, God heard you and forgave you—and you are now His child forever. You also have taken the first step in building your life on a solid foundation—one that will last not only throughout your life, but through all eternity. And from your commitment will come the moral and spiritual strength you need to face the challenges of the future.
NEARING HOME WITH A SOLID FOUNDATION
When I think of the words J. W. Van DeVenter penned in 1896, the foundation of the Christian life comes to mind:
All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
At the time of our personal surrender and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He commands us to walk in His footsteps. Receiving His power gives us courage to follow Him and abide in His presence.
The elderly should take heart in the biographies that fill the pages of Scripture and the foundations that have been laid by those who have lived before us. The Bible does not diminish old age but teaches its values and virtues. We would do well to emulate the wisdom of those who responsibly passed on the building blocks of God’s truth.
Before Joshua died at age 110, he gathered those he had led and reminded them about the days of old: their disobedience and repentance and God’s forgiveness and faithfulness. He made a proclamation that thousands of years later hangs in homes around the world: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15 NKJV). Joshua did not shrink in old age, nor did he shirk his responsibility. He boldly reminded the people of the building blocks that will secure our foundation: “Fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth” (Joshua 24:14 NKJV).
Instead of the elderly taking a backseat in the twilight years, we need to faithfully proclaim as Joshua did, “Incline your heart to the LORD God” (Joshua 24:23 NKJV). Perhaps those who are watching and listening would respond as those who listened to Joshua’s wise counsel when they said, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” (Joshua 24:24 NKJV). The Bible says of Joshua that he had “known all the works of the LORD which He had done” (Joshua 24:31 NKJV). Our voices may be weak, but let our spirits be strong in reminding others that the root of God’s love will grow deep in the hearts of all who will desire the Water of Life.