When I Googled the word foundation, the first hit was The Foundation Center Ð Knowledge to Build On. On their page was an ad to a subscription service that offered 5 plans for grant writing success, starting at $19.95/month. After I hit the back button, I saw many other familiar organizations, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford and Rotary foundations, and the National Science Foundation. On the Sponsored Links side, I saw a link to an online Foundation Type quiz. The tagline read: Take this Quiz and Find the Right Foundation Make Up for You! Wondering about the set of questions they might ask, I clicked, and when the quiz came up, I laughed. Having just read an offer to help me find a grant, I was expecting the same, but what faced me was a womanÕs makeup quiz. The first multiple-choice question asked me for my makeup motto. It was easy Ð ÒLeave well enough alone.Ó The second asked for my skin type Ð oily or normal. I was stumped when I read Question 3, and I imagine it had more than a few women running for their makeup bag. To answer that question, you needed to be a chemistry teacher. Upon reaching Question 8, I realized they had fooled me again. Hmmm, thought it was just for women.
As I thought about the quiz, I remembered the years I worked with a very gifted English teacher who had four children. If she were running behind schedule, sheÕd spread out her makeup on her desk during first period and mesmerize many. The girls learned outlining and removal of dangling participles, along with the importance of a good foundation Ð all worthy skills. Kakuyasu Uchiide, one of the worldÕs top makeup artists, said this: ÒI believe that the base is still the most important part of makeup; without a good base, everything else falls.Ó As we move from the temporal to the spiritual, the foundation remains most important!
Spiritual truth has been passed down to us through the inspired writings of the apostles and prophets. They were men who heard from God - men who walked with Jesus Christ. They did not make up the truth. God gave them truth! Today, we have the inspired word of God not only in written but electronic form, and the Bible extols Christ as the source of all truth. The Scriptures, from start to finish, truly present Jesus as the beginning and the end.
Jesus is the exact image of God the Father in human form. Christ is head of the church, and its chief cornerstone. He holds His living building together, for He indwells each individual member. Paul warns us that Jesus Christ is the only foundation on which we can build. Without Him, the good base, all else falls. So, in life, our attitude should be like ChristÕs - a humble servant doing the will of the Father. As we do, we live and lay up treasure.
Mountain Time Moment
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Ephesians 2:20 NIV
Entire article with verse links in blue at:
http://home.comcast.net/~flgrace/Ephesians220.pdf
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