Once again, I come to you all with little to report regarding great progress or testimony of the transformation of others although we faithfully have enjoyed the opportunity this last month provided. The question and challenge of this month has been and abides to be: What is Qualified Success? What is the foundation for forward?

I remember and still have within my library a book titled, “Why on Earth are there Churches” and within that publication was a chapter devoted to explaining just that. I recall it taking the time to discuss a pervading problem in the formative moments: the problem of having no foundation. It reads from Psalms 11:3 ” If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Qualified Success must have a Quality Foundation. If you desire to move forward in life, please consider what this last month has taught me: Progress must be built upon a foundation and the labor in building upon a sound foundation is ESSENTIAL for your life.

A Heavenly Building

With Easter just around the bend, it is fitting to remind all that read this today of the words of God written by Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”. A life, a ministry, or even a family built upon anything else is bound to experience a great fall because when you refuse to build a foundation for your life upon Christ, You choose to be used to build upon others. To better illustrate this truth let’s look at something we all can relate to as we have all either been part of one or have witnessed one, a construction project.

We will look at three parts that universally apply to most if not all successful projects. These are the Plan, two the Foundation, and three the finishing adornment. With these, you will not only come away with THE MOST FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH but will also hopefully glean some sound principles for embarking on a journey for qualified success!

Behind any great feat of construction lies a team of engineers, builders, contractors, businessmen, and architects. It is a project that goes deep into the talents and gifts of a vast network of people and resources. Let’s consider the plan. This large network spends the majority of its time and resources determining the outcome of the project and when that is decided upon a sufficient foundation MUST be laid to sustain it. At this stage most of the resource is moving, the investment is moving, the engineers are moving, the builders are bidding for the project, the contractors are moving to get on those bids and the city planners are moving to secure all the space and permits needed for construction. Would it be such a wonder to know that YOUR life requires the same care? Before the foundation of this world, Christ in the whole counsel of God and heaven formed you! Eternity worked together to form the finite you!

A plan is a dynamic thing, it is not something static. A plan must be acted upon and should be put together with a commitment to do so. God’s plan is not an old tomb of scriptures, it is a Living Book with a living plan for your life! Our resource of potential only benefits us when it is invested into moving parts. We need to choose a DYNAMIC plan for our life, a dead project that is not going to move forward is not worth the time or effort. It does not lay a foundation and thus does not build anything that will stand. We must identify these unmoving things in our lives to spare the fruitless expense and frustrated idealized expectations. A bad investment can be related closely to a poor plan. In the Words of Christ himself from Luke 14:28, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”

Count the cost of the plan you are investing your life into and consider if the outcome is even clearly defined to follow through. The Bible not only calculates the cost of life eternal but also reveals the reward of trusting Christ for your life. It does require a cross, it does require a crucifixion, and it does abandon your plans, but it is a complete living plan with resurrection power, with an ever-living Savior, and an ever-working Holy Spirit! Invest in a dynamic plan.

Considering the next stage of a project we start by building or choosing a foundation to build upon. The building or the labor to build it means nothing if it is built upon a failed foundation. If the foundation fails to prove under a load or is compromised by inadequate materials it is removed altogether and remade. What does your life stand on and has it already failed? I have built upon denominations of religion, but it failed. I have built upon business and relational principles, but they failed. I have built upon concepts of faith but these failed. No other foundation will truly bear the load of life, nor will it have the integrity to stand against trouble. The hardest and most demanding work in a project is getting the foundation right. This is a worthy struggle and pays its dividend in full when it is done right. Take the time to try your foundation and be ready to remove it if it is not Christ and His Word.

Do not fret! You will lose time, friends, and family in this struggle just as many projects often lose contractors, laborers, and waste materials at this stage. So be sure to arrive at the true cornerstone of Christ. Otherwise, you will continue to suffer in this cycle of perpetual loss, trying other’s foundations just to find a castle of glass built upon shifting sands. Life is fragile enough please consider this aspect carefully! Build upon Christ!

We all can emphatically get behind this stage of a project as it is the place where the talents, gifts, and personal signatures of those who build shine. At this point, the project is at full steam. Contractors are hiring and firing labor, builders are frantically constructing the structure, and architects and engineers are visiting to inspect and qualify that the work is according to the specifications. A building can go up very fast at this point as many hands contribute to the construction and it is really something to behold. It is here that we see most lives frantically going about, but few look beyond the activity and assess what they are building upon, at this point the foundation may be hidden or completely covered by progress and there is no knowing what a structure may be built upon. It is such a temptation to take off full speed and do all your signature work right away, but a project of this scale requires others and great patience for the essential work to be done well.

“But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

James 1:4

We all want to leave our mark on the world, but why not build upon the one who overcame it? There is great freedom at this stage of life especially if the foundational work was done well. Truly great exploits have been accomplished at this stage of finishing construction. I am encouraged to know that the slow work of building a foundation is worth it. As I see many structures going up in a matter of months in the city, I am reminded that it takes time to build, and it takes great patience to build a life. I am so thankful for the faithful prayers and the patient work of being with us on this journey. It is worthy work, and a hard wait but once the ground is broken with a foundation laid for just one life, The glorious Work of Christ can change the fabric of this very nation!