The Builder

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. " This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame! If he had known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. Our lives on earth are in a way building our homes in heaven. Yet we build our homes in a distracted way, willing to put up less than the best.Then with shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized earlier, we would have done it differently.

The bible in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1 says "For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Our house here on earth is referred to as merely a tent.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your home. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. Strive as much as you can with good deeds.