Paul and the Little Pigs

One pig made his house out of straw. One pig made his house out of sticks. One pig made his house out of bricks. Then the big bad wolf came and said “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.”  And he blew down the house made of straw. And he blew down the house made of sticks. But he could not blow down the house made of bricks. Did you know there is a similar story in the Bible? Yep, it’s right there in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV).

 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,  their work will be shown for what it is, because the (Judgment) 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 but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

Wow, right?  These verses caught my attention when I heard them read aloud during a bible study I attend. And for me that means dig!  Dig into God’s Word and find out exactly what the author, Paul, is saying.

Here’s the crux of it: one day all Christians will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10).  This is not be confused with how we get into heaven – that’s been taken care of when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior –  but rather to determine our rewards (2 Timothy 4:8 NIRV) in heaven. This (judgment) is based on our works on earth. And Paul is comparing what type of Christian we are to building a house – our spiritual house. Some are made of meaningless material that will go up in flames immediately (think poof!) and some are solid and they will endure Gods judgment.

This got me thinking. What kind of spiritual house am I building?

• One of straw – am I a Christian that only does enough to get by. Okay, I accepted Jesus but do nothing else.
• Or am I using wood – this takes more effort and even though my heart is right, is it sturdy enough to withstand the fire? I accepted Jesus but I am doing things for Him in my family, my church and my community?
• Or, am I building a rock solid house that will survive God’s fire test?  This is a life filled with love and desire to glorify God. I have Jesus in my heart, I’m serving Him, and I am telling the world about Him.

This begs the following question, how do we demonstrate our love for God?  Praise the Lord! We have the apostle John to answer this for us (and I just love The Message version of this truth) “The proof that we love God comes when we keep His commandments and they are not at all troublesome.” 1 John 5:3.  As His children we must keep His commandments, obeying Him, always remaining faithful.

I don’t know which little piggy you are, but on my last day on earth I want to say what Paul said, in 2 Timothy 4:7  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day…”

Maria Wilson is an ordinary person with a passion for Jesus.  She strives for peace of mind from a chaotic past and looks for ways to bring God into daily lives of others as a source of reassurance, not as a series of rules and commandments.  She is married, has two boys and lives in Yardley, PA.