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Building the House Part 2 - The Frame and Siding
by Jerry Ousley We've been talking about building our spiritual house. Everyone needs some kind of place to live. I have often wondered how the homeless around the world survive. They are caught out in the elements of heat, cold, rain, snow and, well just about everything that Mother Nature decides to throw at us. There are many who have felt the compassion of God and have started homeless shelters. I admire those folks, pray for them, and support them when I can. Different cultures have different kind of houses that range from grass huts to magnificent, stately and sometimes unnecessarily expensive structures. I am baffled sometimes when I hear about people who have purchased or built homes with five or six bedrooms, elaborate libraries and so forth and discover that only a husband and wife live in that home. Why do they need all that space? I'd hate to have to keep it clean to be honest with you. I'm not that fond of dusting and to have to dust rooms you don't even use seems like a total waste of time to me. After the footer has been poured and the foundation constructed so as to build a safe and secure house, the next thing is the frame and siding. A good sturdy frame is absolutely necessary. It will be covered on the inside and out and never be seen, but it is nonetheless extremely important. As we've said, we're all building a house. Our secure foundation should be built on our salvation experience in Christ. It is absolutely essential. Without the security of a foundation built on Him our house is doomed from the beginning to fall. Once done, we need to begin the frame of our house. I want to say this at the outset; the requirement for Heaven is to be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. From there we begin to build and shape our house. Now you can't build a house without a plan. If we would just start nailing two by fours anywhere we took a fancy the frame of our house would be scattered, unorganized, and would make absolutely no sense. We anchor the frame to the foundation and then begin to "grow" the house. That takes time. It won't be completed overnight. We also have to use the right material and the right type of nails so that it will be strong. As we grow in Christ we also put up a strong frame of teaching from the Word of God. We don't all interpret the Bible alike (although I believe that once we get to Heaven and completely understand, that we will all agree). Still, our frame of teaching is what will make us strong believers in Christ. We can't just take any "wind of doctrine" and believe that it's okay, but can differ somewhat and the Lord understands that. However, the basics will agree. The things explicitly taught in the Bible are necessary for building a good sturdy frame and will shape, mold and make our house strong. Once our frame is up then we must decide how our house is going to look on the outside. Some homes are wood, some vinyl, some aluminum and some are covered with brick. The important thing is that it is attractive and gives a good impression. This is not to say that we want to be boastful but if we are to draw visitors to our house it's got to have some appeal to it. So it is with our spiritual house. The siding is what others see. If they see an old ugly house they will want no part of it. But if they see an attractively sided house then they will be drawn to it. We want to draw others to Christ. We want to see others saved. So, what does your siding say about your house? Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |