I have a vision…
I have a dream…
We are working to achieve…
These are pretty common statements, both outside of the church as well as within.
But as we think about the Kingdom of God, it is important for us to continue to remember that God is accomplishing God’s purposes. Our ideas and our thoughts are all good and fine, but they will only find lasting meaning and purpose when they are found in the context of God’s purposes, within God’s mission.
Why? Because God is building His Kingdom. They are His plans. It is His work.
We think that we are working and contributing, and we are, but we know that what we do will pass away, but what God does will never pass away.
In Hebrews 3, we see that the writer is comparing Jesus to Moses. It is a good comparison to help us understand the outcome between God’s plans and man’s plans, between obedience and disobedience. There is a direct contrast between the work of Moses and the work of Jesus, an important contrast to understand especially for Jews who should be familiar with the life and work of Moses and who are now trying to understand Jesus in that context.
Moses was found to be faithful, but he was a servant in God’s house, the scripture says.
But the difference is that Jesus is the Son over God’s house.
But God is the builder of the house.
For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
Hebrews 3:4
This is critical for us to remember for a couple of different reasons:
First, we need to remember that God is doing the building because if we try to do something that doesn’t align with God’s plans and purposes, then we are simply building in vain. Sure, we may be able to build a great ministry, or a great company, but it will amount to nothing over time. It will eventually be torn down, eventually be shuttered. Even if it is after we are dead and gone, it will still be gone. The legacy of what will be built may live on for a little while, but we should emphasize that it will be a little while. Not a long while. Not eternal. A little while.
The second reason is that we should be thinking about who is receiving the glory for the work that is being done. If God is the builder, and we work as his children to align ourselves with His plans, then it is God who is receiving the glory. We are not trying to receive the glory ourselves. What we do is being done to give God the glory. Not to us, but to Him. There is a significant difference in how we act, in how we hold open handed our plans, in how we work and speak if we work to give God the glory instead of to ourselves.
God is the builder over all things. Let us understand what He is building, and let us serve Him and build with Him!