Creating a Strong Foundation for the Best Life
Have you ever played the Game of Life? It’s a board game by Milton Bradley I played as a child. I remember beginning the game by picking out what color of car I wanted to move around the board. After that, each player made a choice of whether he was going to go to college and therefore go into debt or head right into the work force. Early on in the game each player drew a card that identified her salary, and as each of us went around the board we gained spouses, homes and even children to fill up our cars. The winner of the game was the one with the most money at the end.
We talk about building a good life in our culture. Just like in the board game, we associate a successful life with having a nice car, a successful career, a family, and a big house. We assume we should be able to go on expensive vacations and buy whatever we decide is necessary. Unfortunately, we don’t always consider our foundation when we build this “good life.”
We are taking our final look at First Timothy 6:17-19 this week. Paul provides wisdom to Timothy and to us about the foundation we are to be building our life on.
Discovering our Why
In July we examined truth Paul gave in verse 17 of First Timothy six. We learned we are rich by a standard other than the world’s standard and we must recognize we really can’t handle all of life on our own.
Last week, we looked more closely at verse 18 in First Timothy 6 and discussed being generous with whatever God has given us. So, we’ve now come to verse 19 which gives us our “why” for the previous lessons learned.
“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.”
1 Timothy 6:17-19
A Firm Foundation
Verse 19 tells us we choose to follow the instructions in verses 17 and 18 as a way of creating a good foundation. The verse specifically tells us the foundation is for the coming age, but if you’ve ever built something, you know that the foundation must be strong for sustainability in the long haul, AND you reap the benefits of a sturdy foundation in the present.
I’m a fan of HGTV. From my vast wisdom of watching too many hours of Fixer Upper, Property Brothers and Flip or Flop, along with subscribing to their magazine, I can tell you that if the foundation is strong, and the bones of the house are good, you can create just about anything. On the other hand, if the foundation is not solid, the homeowner spends his money on necessary elements rarely seen.
Foundation for the Best Life
Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:19 that we must have a strong spiritual foundation so we can “take hold of what is truly life.” The foundation determines how spectacular the build is whether it is a house or a life. Paul is reminding Timothy and us that neither wealth nor what wealth provides creates the ideal life. The foundation for abundant life is found in recognizing God as the source of everything, and we can therefore live generously knowing that God provides all we need.
We learn in John 14:6 that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is more than our ticket to heaven. Christ is to be the basis for everything we do, and every choice we make.
Building on Our Foundation
In John 17, John states that knowing God and Jesus, having an intimate relationship with the Holy Trinity, is eternal life (John 17:3). When we accept Christ’s gift of salvation, we immediately begin the eternal life promised; eternal life is not something we are waiting to enjoy. We enter training to learn about God and our whole life is an educational adventure. Someday, when heaven and earth are one, we will fully know God.
Until all that is promised in Revelation 21:1-6 comes to pass, we must respond as Paul declares in Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already reached the goal, or am already made perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of what is ahead. I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”
We press on to learn more about God. We press on to understand how Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We press on to alter any misconceptions we have about life or God Himself. We press on to grasp the truth that God provides all we need for abundant life. We press on to match Jesus’ example of holy living. We press on to train ourselves to be generous. We press on to build a foundation that will be firmly cemented in the truth of who God is and all He has for us.
Trust Your Foundation
I am old enough to have built a good spiritual foundation. I have studied the Word and have lived many years following Jesus’ lead, and yet, sometimes I still struggle. Life at times becomes overwhelming for a variety of reasons and I don’t live as if I trust my foundation.
Do you remember as a child venturing into the deep end of the swimming pool when you were first learning to swim? You were so proud of yourself and felt so grown-up. Then your arms and legs began to get tired, and you felt a bit of panic wondering if you were going to go under and never come back up. So, you floundered and dog-paddled until you could feel the bottom of the pool with your toes and also have your head above water. You began to breath normally, and the pool became a safe and delightful place to be again.
Just like we as children found safety in the shallow end of the pool where we could firmly touch the bottom, we must sometimes find our way back to foundational truths we learned before. Our journey to find solid ground may not look pretty, we may splash about and feel anxious or afraid, but finding the place where we can stand and breathe is necessary. We do what must be done to remind our hearts and minds of the strength and safety of our foundation.
Jesus is our Savior and provider of all good things. He is our foundation. We are to build our life on the truth of who God is. He is trustworthy, faithful, and loving. He is wise, forgiving, and kind. With such a firm foundation, we have all we need to build a spectacular and abundant life, relying on God over ourselves, and generously sharing with others.
Game of Life Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash
