Building Ice Castles

While I was out driving one day I noticed some boys building a snow fort.  Oh, I remember the days of fun doing that!  Then I thought "all that work for something that will melt as soon as a warm wind blows".
There is a town nearby that builds a huge ice castle every year for their winter carnival.  People come from all over to walk through and marvel at the large blocks of ice that they form into walls, and rooms, and doors.  And they fashion other things out of the ice like pianos, and little cars that children can sit in.
Isn't it all in vain!? To spend the hours building a snow fort or an ice castle, when it is all going to disappear at some point.
But how many of us live our lives that way; building, working, fretting, toiling at things that are only going to disappear,

 “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Matthew 6:19-21 (HCSB)

We are supposed to focus on things of heaven. 

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”  Matthew 22:37-40 (HCSB)

We are commanded to LOVE and we must work at love.  It isn't always an easy task to love those around us, those who aren't kind to us.  But we must love as Christ loves!

Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us. 1 John 3:23

If we claim to have the spirit of Christ with in us, then we need to work at producing the fruit that shows He lives in us.

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit.  We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26 (HCSB)

So today, this week, this year, work at things that will not melt away....but will last for all eternity!

Until next Monday!