3.210 Consider Yourself a Builder

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, reminding us that our lives are meant to preserve, illuminate, and point others to him. This season on Savory Salt, we'll walk through the Old Testament, one verse and one thought each day. Perhaps these moments will add greater savor and brighter light to our lives as we seek to truly live as Savory Salt.

Hello, my friends. It's a new day with new opportunities. Choose ye this day whom you will serve.

When you're faced with a question from somebody that doesn't necessarily know who you are, how do you respond? The question they may pose to you: who are you as a follower of Christ, or what is it you believe in your church? These questions are questions that you can ask yourself.

I want to develop further out in order to be able to better respond to those types of questions. It's found in Ezra, as we're reading Ezra and Nehemiah this week. It is in Ezra chapter 5, verse 11.

And what's happening here is the work of the temple has been stalled between kings. Really because the Samaritans, kind of, it sounds to me like they kind of went the legal direction to bog everything up with lawyers and legal stuff. But we won't get down into that.

We know that it's slowed down. The records are going back and forth as they're writing letters. And basically, a letter comes back and is like, "Who are you and what are you doing?" Right?

Like, can you give any sort of certification of who you are or what you've been commanded to do here? And the response is in chapter 5, verse 11. It says: "And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up." Now, perhaps you caught the operative word inside of this: they are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and they build.

They build the house that was built these many years ago. Do you consider yourself a builder? Do you describe yourself as a builder when somebody asks what it's like to be a member of your church or a follower of Jesus Christ?

Being a builder is something I want to better develop out as I think about it. What is it I want to be able to build as a follower of Jesus Christ? Well, obviously I love the idea.

I'm not an active participant in that way, the way that these guys are in verse 11. So as a follower of Christ, what am I building? Well, I hope to build faith in Christ, in myself and in others.

I hope I can build hope in a better future as people turn away from their sins and seek Jesus Christ and his atonement. I hope I can build a better worship practice in my own family, in my own life, and in the lives of friends and those around me. I hope I can build a greater level of charity to those that I serve and a greater desire to serve friends, family, those that I know, those that I don't know.

Ultimately, I hope I can be a builder of others, someone that's known to uplift and strengthen others. So perhaps in your own responses and in your own kind of pocket answers as you have them, for people that ask what it's like to be a member of the Church, perhaps you could play around with the idea of builder. I love the phrase here: "we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and build." My friends, may you and I seek to be better builders in the kingdom of God is my hope today.

That is all for today, my friends. You and I have come here for such a time as this. Step forward in faith and let's be savory salt. We will be here tomorrow and we hope you are too.