Once upon a time, in a quaint little town, a wealthy traveler happened upon a sight that took his breath away. It was a magnificent two-story building, and the second floor, oh, it was a thing of beauty! The veranda seemed to whisper promises of relaxation, and the roof design was like nothing he'd ever seen before.
The rich man just had to find out who had created this architectural wonder. He searched high and low until he finally found the carpenter responsible. "You!" he exclaimed, "You must come to my city and build me a second floor just like the one I saw. I'll pay any price you ask!"
The carpenter, a man of few words, simply nodded and set to work. For a whole month, he poured his heart and soul into building the rich man's dream. When the wealthy traveler returned to see the finished product, he couldn't believe his eyes. There was the second floor he'd asked for, but wait... what was that underneath it? A first floor?!
The rich man was furious! He confronted the carpenter, shouting, "I asked for the second floor, not the first! Tear it down, now!"
But the carpenter, calm as can be, replied, "Sir, you can't have the second floor without the first. It's the foundation that holds up all that beauty you admire."
The wealthy man wasn't having it. "I'm not paying for something I didn't ask for!" he huffed. "You'll get your money for the second floor, and that's it!"
The carpenter, a wise man, tried to explain, "The first floor is like the backbone of the whole building. Without it, the second floor would come crashing down. You can't have one without the other." (End of the story).
This story may sound silly, but it’s an ancient fable to enlighten those who want to ignore the foundation to achieve a higher goal. It resembles Jesus’ parable of building a house on the sand.
What is your higher goal? What’s your dream second floor you want to build? What’s your life mission? We all want our life count. What would he say if we asked God what we should do to make our three scores and ten most meaningful? I think Prophet Micah summarized it nicely, short and sweet:
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6:8).
The Lord has told us what makes life good and meaningful. As believers, we are called to follow in Christ's footsteps, proclaiming good news, working for justice, and demonstrating compassion to a world in need.
Those are worthwhile missional goals, but they are our second floor. Many social justice warriors today fail to build the first floor. So, their social justice movement is like a castle in the air.
Without the first floor, social justice can be not only a failure but also destructive to society. For example, communism is a social justice movement without the first floor. As a result, it has brought more destruction than construction.
Today, we will explore Jesus' mission, which is now our mission, and make sure we have the solid first floor as our strong foundation for fulfilling our mission and making our lives good and meaningful. Let’s begin!
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