PROBE THE FOUNDATIONS

Romans 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:

Paul understood his ministry entirely as an Apostle to the gentiles and he was careful to stay within the boundaries of this call. In his letter to the Romans today, he captures one of the underlying principles he aimed to achieve: ‘to not build on another man’s foundation’. That statement struck a chord.

As a tutor, whenever I encounter a student for the first time, I aim to establish a baseline expecting that they will already have existing foundations. However, I rarely go straight to building with new blocks without this initial baseline assessment. The reason is if you do not probe the foundations to have convincing evidence of strength, stability, accuracy and coverage, you run a risk of losing whatever you build on it.

Regardless of the grande exterior of a building, it’s real asset is its foundations. Although unseen, there are ways to assess foundations. This should be non negotiable, especially as builders. We are all building many things: homes, careers, relationships and our very lives. Let’s not focus on external adornment without a focus on the foundations that hold them up because when the storms and floods come, any house built on sand will come crumbling down.

#sly