"Making Stuff"

 "I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:" (Ecclesiastes 2:4 KJV)

  "Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world! High and low, rich and poor - listen! For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight. I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp. Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me? They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches. Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave. Those who are wise must finally die; just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind. The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals. This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude " (Psalm 49:1-13 NLT)

 This is the account of stuff! Stuff that doesn't last, but in the making, makes one feel accomplished! Been there, done that! If you have ever made something, such as furniture, or a garden, or a building, having actually completed your work, then you can appreciate the feeling you get, if just for a moment, of having accomplished something. But believe me, it really doesn't last! 

 This is not because we wasted our time, because we boast about the things we made from time to time, so it is hardly something you don't cherish having done. But it is all just stuff; and stuff gets old, needs to be kept up, and eventually becomes junk that needs to be discarded. 

 The Psalm which is printed above has a little something in common with Solomon's message; mostly the parts about what happens after you die: None of that stuff goes with you, nothing you accumulate or count as yours, is really ever yours to keep, because it doesn't go with you to the grave! And even if it did, you will have no use for it, because you are dead! 

 Again, the general thesis of this story has to do with things that really last: "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last!" (CT Studd 1860) Hopefully we can understand what that is, what it stands for, and how it works. Realistically, you could build and make things, which could be considered as things for Christ, if you were doing them for others and not yourself, (just saying!) 

 I was amazed to see pictures of a friend from church, Bruce, who was making false teeth for people in Mexico, as he molded and grinded the castings that would fit in their mouths. Things like that are what we should be about, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison! It's the little things that really matter, because a lot of the little things get overlooked... 

""Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"" (Matthew 25:34-40 NLT)