The Three-Fold Impact of Today

Imagine you're standing in a beautiful field, looking out over a clearing. Maybe you are balancing in a rainforest  or maybe you're standing on a beach. Maybe you are surrounded by mountains dotted with majestic pines or maybe you're encircled by cacti and desert sand. In your hands you are holding a blueprint for the house of your dreams. The house you will leave behind when you die.

This can be a brick house, a white farmhouse, a small cottage. God made us all different. We look different, talk different, and have different talents. But the the basics of the blueprint are the same.  Where do I find this blueprint? In the Bible of course. Naturally some of this is found in the areas of the Bible that speak directly to women: Proverbs 31, Ephesians 5, Titus 2. But most of it is found throughout the Bible in every spot that tells us how to live a life that pleases God. That's the blueprint. 

For the rest of our story we're going to picture a brick house. 

Every day is a brick. It will take a lifetime to build this house, this legacy. There are no shortcuts, no pre-assemblies allowed. No way to go back and make up for what was wasted. Every single day I get the chance to either put a brick into place in my house or to throw the brick away. Every day starts with one choice. Will I build my house that day or will I tear it down?

Imagine if I lived my life and wasted three days a week. Imagine if I spent them on me and idle pleasures. Or even spent them on good work that wasn't what God intended for me. Almost every other brick would be missing! What kind of house would that build?  One that might not even stand. If I waste those three days how focused could the other four days possibly be? None of my life would add up to what it could have been.  "What could have been" is the epitaph I don't want.  

We need more than bricks to build a house. We're going to need mortar. We have to hold those days together with some kind of glue. A vibrant relationship with Jesus is the only glue that will hold a life together. I don't mean simply being a Christian; I mean spending time with Jesus, learning and loving Him.  The Bible says that without Jesus I can do nothing. I am nothing on my own. All my best efforts will amount to a house that will fall over at the slightest bump because it will just be bricks stacked up, nothing holding them in place. I must follow Jesus every day. 

I don't just want walls of brick and mortar. I want all the extra things that make a house beautiful, that make it a welcoming place. The paint colors, the porch shutters, the wide windows. That going the extra mile. The graciousness when I'm tired. The extra work that I don't have to do but that God equipped me to do. The living by the spirit of the law and not just the letter.  The little things that beautify my life now are what will make my legacy outstanding. That aim for excellence that makes a person stand out is what adds the extra touches to a life.  The smiles, the kindness, the strength to hold to convictions. 

Of course they say that people remember how you finish, not how you start. Jesus is the foundation. You don't have a chance at building a house that lasts without Him. But if at the end of your life you stop serving Jesus and stop adding bricks to your house, it will be a sad reminder to everyone else that you quit. Your house will stand only partially finished until Jesus returns. That's not the legacy I want to leave. 

What I do today has a three-fold impact. Putting my brick on my house allows God to bless me today. (God always blesses obedience.) Putting my brick on my house will leave a legacy for future generations. Putting my brick on my house is how I build a work that lasts for eternity.

Will I build my house with my brick today or will I throw it away? 

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. Proverbs 14:1