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Thursday, September 9, 2010

After the Fire

A wildfire in the mountains northwest of Boulder, Colorado, destroyed 136 houses, damaged 24 additional houses, and forced hundreds of evacuees to leave their possessions and treasured keepsakes behind. The loss is staggering.

The Bible describes the Judgment Seat of Christ as an event that will test believers’ works by fire (1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:9, 10). If we spend our Christian lives in selfish pursuit of personal gain, nothing we did or amassed will survive the fire of testing. But Jesus will reward whatever we do for His honor in this life. Eternal value is intrinsic in words and deeds that honor Him. It is not wrong to have possessions and wealth, but it is wrong for possessions and wealth to have us. Good stewardship recognizes that the Lord entrusts us with things and money, and will demand an accounting someday of our stewardship.

None of us can carry so much as a penny or a pendant into eternity, but we can carry our reputations with us.