It is a common phenomenon to see people celebrate the physical structure and architectural design of a building. The painting, design, style of roofing, lighting systems, flowers, and interior decoration, to mention a few, are a delight to watch. Some of these buildings even serve as tourist sites due to their magnificent nature. You cannot talk about wonderful architectural buildings in Ghana without mentioning the World Trade Centre, the Octagon, the Mirage Residence, the Exim Bank, and many others. All these spectacular edifices are highly praised and adored only because of their external outlooks. But have you ever wondered about how deep those buildings may be?
The tallest building in the world is called the Burj Khalifa, named after the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifah IBN Zayid Al-Nahyan. According to researchers, over 45,00m3 (58,900 cu yd) of concrete weighing 110,000 tonnes were used to construct the foundation. The foundation features 1992 piles buried over 50m or 164ft deep.
However, while the world celebrates its heights and outlooks, it often forgets the foundation. Before the world can celebrate you, you must consciously work on your foundation. Being the talk of the town doesn’t come out of the blue. It demands consistent and deliberate effort to achieve that feat. Many times, young people aspire to be like revered personalities they see or hear of. Some even go to the extent of emulating the way they walk, speak, or dress. For instance, some young men in the church have ignorantly resorted to shaping their hair like Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah because they want to be like him.
We must learn to be like such people of noble standings, but how prepared are we to go to the depth they went before achieving the height they have in life? The fasting, prayers, Bible study, devotional times, dedications, commitments, and obedience they had for God and the orderliness are less of our concern today. We live in the domain of “fast” people.
Preachers find it difficult to delve deeper into the Bible and search for God’s work for the congregation. With just a click on Google, the scriptures will pop up for use. Most pastors now prefer to use messages they receive by watching videos on YouTube for their members instead of waiting patiently on God for Him to speak to them. No wonder most of the sermons we hear in our churches these days are borrowed messages.
I am not trying to downplay the significance of technology in spreading the gospel. However, it is making most Christians lazy to learn the scriptures and patiently meditate on the word of God. It is even hilarious to hear that some will go to the extent of hiring people to fast for them.
The foundation of the world is the word of God. God built the world on a solid foundation, which is the very word from His mouth. Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Also, John 1:1-3 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made.”
God, the chief architect of the wonderful and beautiful world we see, did so on an unmovable foundation—the Word. Show me a man who broods on the word of God consistently, and I will show you a man who is shining like a galaxy of stars. The writer of Psalm 11:3 asked a thought-provoking question: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
It must therefore be noted that even though the physical architectural design of a building makes it beautiful, for the said building to stand the test of time, it must be rooted on a solid foundation.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, just as the longevity of a building solely depends on the foundation and not just its design, so does our Christian journey. As young, energetic Christians, we must not only be interested in praises. We must consciously work on the foundation before we think of the celebration.
If sermons preached today were to be marked by lecturers, most of them, if not all, would be considered plagiarised messages. This is because preachers of today do not invest much time in reading and meditating for God to speak to them. In fact, most of our sermons have become “copy and paste” or “leftover messages.” Before we even think of being like the most revered and celebrated men and women of God, we need to redirect our attention to building on a solid foundation of:
- Consistently reading and meditating on the word of God.
- Fasting and prayers.
- Living a righteous and blameless life.
- Volunteerism.
- Respect and humility towards rules and authority.
Remember the popular adage, “Pay the price before you receive the prize.”
Written by Elder Richard Mbelembote (President, PENSA-PU)