Life, Fire, and Rewards

1 Corinthians 3:14-15  "If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

      Dearest Lord,  I thank You today that I have never been through a house fire.  I have known of those who have lost everything.  This morning I pray for of all those in Colorado who were evacuated from their homes with just what they had on their backs.  All of their earthly possessions were consumed by fire.  Now they are dependent on others for shelter, food, water, and clothing...just the essentials of life.
      Lord, in the USA especially, we run after stuff, stuff, and more stuff...bigger stuff and better stuff.  Then we learn that in a disaster like a fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or tsunami, that it can all be gone in a instant.  Only then do we realize what is really important and necessary...our lives and the lives of others.
      Just like the survivors of the Colorado fire, their lives were spared, but all of their stuff was burned and there was little to show for it.  Lord, I want my life to show Your glory and to be lived for Your purpose.  There is a verse in an old hymn that says:
"Only one life, will soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last."
These words are so very true!  What we do for ourselves will be burned away, and only what is done to further the kingdom will last forever.  I want my life to be full of the precious building materials so I may lay my reward at Your feet as an offering of praise!
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24