Jimi Hendrix wrote, “Castles made of sand melt into the sea, eventually.”
The other day I was spending some productive time watching sand castles being destroyed on YouTube. I found a lot that showed vandals destroying other people’s sand castles. I found some of people destroying their own sand castles, but the real neat ones were those where you could watch sand castles being destroyed by the rising tide. Watching a sand castle meet its inevitable fate from nature is a great reminder, like the snow statues, that we can either be building for ourselves something that will not last or we can build for God something that will be eternal.
Amidst the mean people destroying other peoples sand castles, I found three neat ones. One is a group of vandals destroying an amazing sand castle. That one is just a neat sand castle to see. Another is an impressive castle that was built by a family in which one of the family members decided to record it being destroyed by rising and falling of the tide. The last is one built by two little kids and set to Jimi Hendrix’ Castles Made of Sand. I just liked it.
We’re either building our own kingdom or we are joining in on building God’s kingdom. God intends so much for our life. He wants us to be part of a community that will last well past each one of our lives. Jesus is the cornerstone and foundation for that great spiritual house, but God wants us to be involved in its construction. Peter wrote, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5).
Paul wrote that we are to presents ourselves as a living sacrifice. We do that, by doing what Jesus taught; we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. What would our life look like if that is what we were really doing? What would our relationships be like? What would our free time be like? Are we being built into something that will last or are we just building our earthly kingdom, a kingdom that will rot, decay, and just melt away.
Castles made of sand melt into see eventually. We are just building sand castles if all we focus on is ourself rather than on His kingdom. Let’s not build sand castles; let’s build something that will last long past our death on the cornerstone of Jesus
