Castles in the Sand

Author: Jacob Tynes
Editor: Danielle Milliken
Scripture: Luke 12
Song: Kingdom Come

I grew up near the shores of Virginia Beach. If the weather was nice, you would find me outside, in the pool or at the beach. The majority of my childhood was spent in the water.

The coastal breeze. The music of seagulls; also the attack of seagulls if food is near (it can get intense). The best part of the beach for me as a kid was building my own castle in the sand. Have you ever built one? To build a great sand castle, you need wet sand so that you can compact it. That requires you to build it closer to the sea. You finally finish your sand castle and couldn't be more proud of your hard work. But, after an hour or so, it happens... CRASH! A wave, out of nowhere, comes and destroys your work and washes it away as if it never existed. When you're a kid, you furiously attempt to hurt the water, kicking it and smacking it. Now, as an adult, witnessing that takes you on a journey down memory lane to when that happened to you for the first time.

Castles in the sand don't last.

Why am I talking about castles in the sand? Because we still build them today in our everyday lives. They just begin to look a little different as we grow up.

We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we've purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we've built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren't supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there's a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom. You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who have messed up, but kingdoms have grace. (Bob Goff, Everybody Always)

Luke Chapter 12 talks about this kingdom we are appointed to build. The chapter gives its readers a caution against covetousness and uses the parable of the rich man. Within this parable, the questions were money and inheritance focused. In other words, they were focused on building castles. They were focused on building bigger and better. They were focused on taking life easy at the end, eating and drinking, and being merry. Sound familiar? We have a culture that strives to build castles for all to see and enjoy, and when we don't, we feel a part of "the least of these" club.

We determine our success based on the wonder and awe of our castle.

I look forward to retirement one day. However, I am not sure that we are ever called to retire from building a kingdom.

Are you focused on building a castle in the sand - a castle that has no capacity to withstand eternity? This week, take time to evaluate what you're focused on and see if your path aligns with building a kingdom or a castle. This week, begin to make changes in your life that allow you to focus on building a kingdom that will not wash away. A kingdom that is built on Jesus Christ.  

Stop building sand castles. Start building His kingdom.