The church of Christ

 Building to Last!

 The pyramids of Egypt are among some of the oldest structures to be found anywhere on Earth. Their precise age has long been debated. The history books generally point to 3200 B. C. as the approximate date when the pyramid of Khufu was under construction at Giza (pbs.org). This pyramid, also known as The Great Pyramid, consists of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks believed to have been transported from nearby quarries. The largest stones in the pyramid weigh as much as 25 tons. An estimated 5.5 million tons of limestone were used in its construction, along with 8,000 tons of granite and 500,000 tons of mortar. There is still much mystery surrounding the pyramids, including the building methods and the people who built them. But one thing is clear - they built them to last! Bible students will appreciate the fact that the Great Pyramid might have been under construction more than a thousand years before Abraham came onto the scene in Canaan at approximately 1,800 B. C. The Great Pyramid was indeed built to last.

Jesus built His church the same way - that is, to last. He said in Matthew 16:18b, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades [i.e., death / the grave] shall not prevail against it." The church of Christ came into being on the first Day of Pentecost after Christ's resurrection from the dead some 2,000 years ago. In every age mockers and skeptics have sought to bury the Bible, Christ, and His church. And every age watches as the hammers wear themselves out on these divine anvils. Jesus built the church to last.

Jesus Christ calls on every person to build something that will last. In Matthew 7:24-27, He asserts that every person who hears His teachings faces a critical choice. Let the verses speak - "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." Hearing Jesus' teaching is not enough. His word is similar to a salve for a sore - it won't help if left un-applied. Response to Jesus divides human beings into two groups. Those who hear His teaching and obey are deft, that is skillful and wise. But those who hear and do not do them are daft, that is silly and foolish. And why foolish? Because the storm of God's judgment looms up ahead - not if it is coming, but simply when (Hebrews 9:27; Acts 17:31, etc.). Each of us is daily building a spiritual house. Are you building on Christ, the solid Rock, or on the flimsy foundation of sand? Will your house fall, or will it stand? Build it to last! Think about it.

--by Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN