Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man: A Daily Devotional

by Walter A. Henrichsen

FEBRUARY 3 Day 34 Eternal Accountability “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 3:15 Many passages of Scripture teach that there is eternal accountability for temporal behavior, but possibly none quite as poignantly as I Corinthians 3. In verses 10-15 we learn that the servant of Christ must invest his life in concert with the Foundation laid by God, and that he will be judged by God on the kind of investment he makes. You are in the construction business and you can bring to the job two kinds of materials, symbolized by “wood, hay and straw,” and “silver, gold and precious stones.” The former, according to the Apostle Paul, represents the wisdom of the world, and the latter the wisdom of God. You invest in your own life as well as the lives of others. Upon death you are ushered into God’s presence where He lays your investment upon a conveyor belt which passes through a furnace. On the other side the two of you discuss the results. If you have refined “gold, silver and precious stones,” great is your reward. If your “wood, hay and straw” burns, so that all you have is a small pile of ash, you will “suffer loss, but… shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” This loss you carry with you into eternity. Life is too short and the stakes too high for you to invest with “wood, hay and straw.” God gave you your days upon earth to prepare you for an eternity with Him. You may not have a great deal to sa...