What are you building?
Are you Building your kingdom or building an Ark?
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ~ Ecclesiastes 1:14
These stories reflect the crucial decision we all confront – whether to leave behind a "Father and his kingdom" to chart our own path. It's a choice that echoes throughout the annals of human history, resonating with each individual's quest for purpose and identity.
When I was younger, living with my parents, I couldn't wait to strike out on my own. I had big plans: a good job, a cool car, and a nice place to live were all I needed. I figured I'd be all set, able to do whatever I pleased, stay out as late as I wanted, and have a blast.
And sure, it was fun for a while. But as time passed, I realized something was missing. Like King Solomon, I embarked on a quest to find meaning in life. I was going to build my life, and I was going to figure out how to do it. I began to chase everything in this world to see if that was the answer. I tried everything under the sun.
I was reluctant to think money or material things could solve life's problems because of my dad. He worked hard to be successful, but one day, I found him sitting at the bottom of the stairs in our house, crying. It was a shock because I'd never seen him cry before. When I asked if he was okay, he said something that stuck with me. He told me he was fine but wanted to share something important. He said, "Son, even with all I've accomplished, I still don't know what life is all about."
His words lingered in my mind, yet they didn't deter me from following a similar path. I thought maybe my dad didn't find the right way, so I decided to give it a shot myself like many of us do. I embarked on a journey marked by sheer folly.
I sought answers through various jobs, daring adventures like skydiving, and my love for music. Many endeavors failed, while those that brought some success faltered to fill the void within me. I turned to the party life, pursuing women, falling into the age-old trap of indulgence – sex, drugs, and consuming enough alcohol to fill two lives.
After all this failed, I thought the answer would be settling down, leaving my single life behind, and getting married. I got married, and for a time, it was good, but it too began to fall short. It had nothing to do with my wife but everything to do with me.
When my marriage began to feel stagnant, I sensed it was time to embrace parenthood. Welcoming my daughter into the world was an extraordinary experience, and my love for her knows no bounds. Yet, despite this joy, a lingering sense of emptiness remained within me. I attempted to fill it with the trappings of family life - the home, the pet, the picket fence - but it left me in the same place, searching for meaning in life.
In my journey through life, I've been through it all, much like my father before me. It made me stop and wonder: what's the real meaning behind it all? I've experienced the joy of being a father and the challenge of stepping into the role of a mom—during a time when my wife worked. There were moments of pure happiness, excitement, and thrill. I've known the comfort of success and the struggle of being dirt poor for what felt like forever.
I've faced my demons, grappling with drug addiction and the excruciating pain of trying to recover. I have lived a rebellious life, landing me behind bars. But there were bright spots. I've played on stage with a band, felt the rush of leaping out of a plane, and explored new places. I've tried everything to make a life that feels right for me.
I tried building my kingdom, and it failed. I never felt I found something to make me feel I belonged. I've always sensed a void in my life, a feeling that something crucial was absent. It didn't take long for me to discover what was wrong.
You can't build a life without God. We can't build a kingdom. We can't construct it because we lack the following:
No foundation: What we build is temporary—nothing can sustain it. It will all rust away and die in time.
No Architect: God is the architect of our lives; without Him, we don't know how to design a life. God is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us into the image of Christ.
No plan: God orchestrates the blueprint of our lives; without His guidance, we have to navigate through mere speculation and fleeting desires.
Father's Guidance: Without God's leading, we will lose our way—and walk down paths that lead us to dead ends.
No purpose or reason: Without God, our kingdom only serves to sustain us on this earth. Once we pass this life, it will crumble to the ground.
No love: Our love falls short because we're empty vessels, constantly seeking God's perfect love, making us unable to offer it unconditionally. We draw from each other in ways only God can truly fulfill.
Building our lives is fruitless, and the result of the construction of our kingdoms is tragic.
It will Fall: The lives we build are like sand castles that time will wash away.
Tear it down: The longer we invest in constructing our kingdom, the less inclined we become to dismantle it, regardless of circumstances.
We Protect It: Every challenge to our kingdom is perceived as a threat, even including God, and viewed as an enemy.
What we are living for: What we build tells the world what we are living following. It creates others that may follow our design. We are telling people to come and construct a sand castle too!
How will we find salvation?: Our kingdoms will not float—it will not make it to the other side of this existence.
In truth, the aspect of ourselves driven to construct our own lives is our inherent nature, often referred to in the Bible as the flesh. It is our flesh that wants to be independent and wants to believe it can do anything—and doesn't need God. It is our prideful nature that likes to listen to Satan and reject God.
God created us with the capability to love and think, but without God, we can't do this properly. The only thing we can build is limited by each other. We are blind sheep that follow each other. We copy the lives of others that look appealing to us.
Picture 8 million people on this earth seeking love, truth, answers, meaning, and reason in each other. Everyone is pulling in different directions, feeling frustrated because nothing seems to satisfy the void that only God can fill—this is why evil persists and exists in the world: our yearning for independence and our struggle to fill the void.
Noah got it right. He built his ark on a solid foundation, following the architect's plan—God's plan. His purpose and reason were clear: it was for his salvation.
What were the people Noah's time doing while he was building the ark? Like most of the world today, building their lives while believing Noah was probably wasting his time building an ark when no one had even seen rain. Today, most people are busy building their kingdom, convinced the Christian life puts no significance into what is essential because they don't believe God's Kingdom will come upon them.
Everything we do outside of God has been done before, albeit perhaps in a slightly different guise. Our actions aim to fill the void created by the absence of God. We strive for our glory, and this pursuit consumes and controls us. We imitate, compete, and even fight against each other in our quest to fill the emptiness within.
When we live for God's glory, we live for the ultimate of ultimates. When we live for God's glory, we glorify the one that deserves glory. God gives us the love to glorify Him, we are blessed to be blessings. When we pour out God's glory He continues to fill us. Heaven will be a place of peace, love, and unity because everyone will live for God's glory.
