Wood, Hay and Stubble - Gone in a Flash

      By Fern Horst

"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (I Corinthians 3:12-15)

There was still smoke swirling up from the ashes as my parents and I stood in front of what had been the home of our friends. No one was there when we arrived, a day after their house caught fire on a windy morning and was destroyed within fifteen minutes. But their son soon pulled into the driveway. "It's very clarifying," he commented as he stood with us looking at the smoldering scene before us. He didn't need to explain. I knew that he was referring to the fire as one of those severe mercies from our Heavenly Father, when through a tragedy He gives us the ability to see more clearly what is and what is not eternally important in our lives.

Thankfully, everyone got out of the house safely and no one was hurt. But years of work was destroyed. This was not a home where the individuals left each day to go to their other lives. It was the center hub of a small organic farm, alive with the passion of its owners who loved their work. Not only was their home destroyed, but their life's work took a major hit as well. Treasured photos, items passed down from previous generations, a computer full of information, farm equipment, business records, heirloom seeds carefully collected over the years - all gone in less than a half hour. And yet their son told us that his parents seemed at peace. How could that be?

I don't profess to know what their thoughts have been the last few days since the fire, but I know that they serve the same God that I serve. I know that their real life's work - the work they have done for Christ's Kingdom - survived the fire without any question. The fire destroyed years of work that is for this earth only. But it had no ability to destroy their Kingdom work.

I have another friend, a single woman, who has suffered through a different kind of fire in the last couple years - the loss of a relationship and the ensuing months of spiritual attack and depression. But she's come through that fire refined for the Lord's work. "Wood, hay and stubble," she often quotes to me, referring to the activities and possessions she was passionate about before her "fire," but that have no lasting value for eternity. Some of her friends don't understand her willingness to lay them aside. But they hold little value for her now. She's vibrant and alive with an interest in Christ's Kingdom - an interest clarified and refined, and not held back by those things she used to view as so important.

If we are wise we will learn from the fires of others, rather than waiting for our own. My friends' responses to their clarifying fires have inspired me to allow God to do His clarifying in my own life of what is important and what isn't. One hundred years from now, will it matter if I built up a successful business, traveled the world over, or accumulated costly possessions? It won't matter one iota. What will matter is what I accomplish for Christ - reaching out in love to others, praying and interceding as the Holy Spirit leads, teaching Sunday School with a passion for passing on God's truth to His little ones, and helping an elderly person with chores they can no longer do themselves. These are the things that can never be touched by fire - any kind of fire.

Everyone needs to make a living and have a certain amount of possessions. I believe God wants us to enjoy these things and to have an interest in our work. He has given each of us varying interests and it's okay to pursue them. But as we do, we need to realize what can be destroyed in a flash, and what will last for eternity. Those things which can be gone in an instant we need to hold lightly, enjoying them while we have them, but never forgetting to put the core of our energy and passion into God's eternal values.

© 2007 Fern Horst

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