Through the fire – 1st Corinthians 3:13-15

“But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:13-15

While it is true that we are saved by faith alone and not by works, this passage makes it clear that if we laze around in the knowledge that we are saved, and don’t do anything to show God’s love to the world, don’t do anything to reach out to the lost, don’t care if the people around us end up in Hell, we lose out. The Good News is not meant to be Good News for just us. It is meant to be Good news to everyone in our lives. What do I mean by this? I mean that the impact our salvation has on us should result in us being transformed into a new, loving, caring creation, who does whatever they possibly can to advance God’s kingdom, to show justice to all, to act mercifully towards others, trying our best to meet their needs – feeding them if they are hungry, clothing them if they are naked, visiting them when they are sick, doing what we can to meet their needs (re Matt 25:31-46 – The sheep and the goats). This is the work that ‘will be put though the fire’ – our treatment of others, and what we have done with God’s love. Will we keep it to ourselves, or will we share it with those around us? Are we content that we are saved, or do we want to see others saved? Because depending on how we answer those questions, we will either receive a reward, or risk feeling out of place when we get to heaven.
To ponder:
.       What is your “work”?
.       If it went “through the fire” today, would it keep its value?