"When all kinds of trials and temptation crowd into your lives, my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!" (James 1:2, Phillips)

I'm convinced now that if I had no problems in my life, the Lord would give me some. If there were no problems in our church, something would be quite wrong.

The reason is that He is at work building something that He intends to last. Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." The God-given revelation of Who Jesus is as the Christ, the unique Son of God who lines up with the witness of the Spirit and the Word as the prophesied Messiah, is the church's one foundation. An enduring community is to be built on this revelation. And this revelation must be put through the fires.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are to be careful how we build on that foundation (1Corinthians 3:10-16). Our lives and communities should get their alignment and agenda from the chief cornerstone. It is also vital that we use nothing less than quality building materials: gold, silver and precious stone. Gold speaks of the nature of God, love. Silver is a Biblical symbol of redemption, the motive to buy someone out of slavery or captivity, and precious stones are building materials that can withstand fire because they have been formed through the pressures of the earth (diamonds), and hidden wounds and irritations (pearls). They not only endure the fire, they are perfected in the fire.

The builders of the Titanic boasted that their ship was unsinkable. In the worst case scenario it was to take at least two days to sink. As it happened, after it struck an iceberg around midnight on April 14, 1912, the 900 ft long 46,000 ton ship sank 12,612 feet to the ocean bed in under three hours. Thomas Andrews, the ships designer, was one of the 1500 passengers that perished. Designed to make over 1000 ocean crossings, it was never to complete its maiden voyage.

Today we realize that the tragedy of the Titanic was due to human error and faulty materials. Recently scientists discovered that the high sulfur content of the Titanic's steel made it brittle in icy water. It is the error of putting our agendas before that of the kingdom, not seeking alignment with the Word, or building with something less than God's love, redemptive motives and enduring faith that will cause us to suffer loss. Remember: Trials are 'good friends' that prepare us as living stones for the building His eternal dwelling place.

One day our work will be brought to light. If what we have built survives, we will not be ashamed. We will receive our reward (1Corinthians 3:14).

One of the stones that Jesus owns,