Lasting Legacy

...each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 
1 Corinthians 3:13

Driving down a very familiar road, my husband and I were enjoying a quiet afternoon with good company and good conversation. As we trekked further down this serene, county road, I anticipated once again casting my eyes toward a home that had been remodeled into anyone's dream home. The owners had spent several years transforming their once simple abode into a magnificent work of architectural "envy". I was not prepared for what my eyes would behold next. Where once stood the testimony of hard work and creative ingenuity, sat a charred, empty space. This home, the home I had  admired and fawned over, had completely succumbed to the ravages of combustion. The owners must be devastated, I mused. As we continued our course, I couldn't stop thinking about the builders, the owners of this home. I challenged myself by  questioning how I would manage this type of loss? Then I began to think about how God reminds us to build things that can withstand "fire". In fact, He reminds us that the work of our lives will be tested by fire, and that only what is of eternal importance will endure and survive. Careers, degrees hanging on walls, fine homes and eye catching cars will not withstand the heat, but how we manage the people we encounter in our careers, how we use our degrees, homes, and cars to serve humanity will decide what lasts. Today, consider the work of your hands and the state of your heart. Is building a house as important as building a home where spouses, children, family and friends feel loved and wanted? Is having the "dream career" going to outlast the relationships we build along the way during our career? When our fast and eye catching car rusts, and it will, will it dis-enable us to continue carrying a friend through a difficult time? What matters is what lasts. What matters to you? Will it endure, when tested by the fire of life?