The next couple of weeks we are
going to discuss the story of the three little pigs. I know it
might sound strange to you that I chose a topic like this for my
devotions, but please bear with me. You will be blessed by all the
lessons we can learn from them. I know I have been blessed just
writing it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Now I am sure
that most of you know the story of the three little pigs. But for
those of you who don't, in short it is about three little piggy
brothers who still lived with their mother. When it was time to
leave the house she gave them some advice, told them to build
strong houses for themselves and saw them on their way.
The first piggy was a bit lazy and
took the easiest route. He built himself a house of straw. He
finished the house very quickly and immediately started to live
there. It was not long before the wolf in the vicinity smelled the
little pig and without any trouble blew his house away in order to
eat him. Luckily for the little piggy he was quick enough to get
away from the nasty wolf.
In the mean time the second little
piggy made a little more effort in building his house. He used
sticks to build his house. He took a bit longer than his brother
did in building his house, but soon enough he was finished and
enjoying his completed product. Once again it was not long before
the wolf sniffed him out and with a little more effort blew his
house away as well. The wolf was very hungry by now, but the little
pig managed to escape amongst the heaps of sticks lying around.
The third little pig was wiser and
had more resilience than his brothers and decided to build a proper
house with bricks and cement. He took much longer than his brothers
did in building the house, but he made sure that everything was
hundred percent in place with a proper foundation to support his
structure. Eventually he finished his house. He was so impressed
with his handwork and enjoyed living there. In the mean time the
nasty wolf was almost starving from hunger and smelled the piggy
from afar. He hurried over to his house and tried to blow the house
down, but as much as he tried he couldn't even make a dent in any
part of the house. He realized he had to make another plan, and
before long he saw that he can climb onto the roof and wriggle
himself down the chimney into the little piggy's house. He didn't
waste any time and immediately put his plan into action. But the
piggy was one step ahead of him; he realized what the wolf was
planning to do. So in the meantime he put a big pot full of boiling
water in the fireplace and when the wolf came down the chimney, he
gave a loud yoooowwll as his bum burned with the boiling water. He
immediately rushed out of the little piggy's house, never to
return.
The two other piggy's heard the
noise and rushed to see what had happened. Their brother was glad
to see them and invited them to come and live with him which they
readily accepted. They all lived happily ever after.
Now you may wonder why I am telling
you this old story. Well, I am going to talk in depth about the
lessons that we can learn from these three little piggys and the
choices they made. But for now, stop and think for a moment, what
is your house - in other words, your life - made of? Is it built
with straw, sticks or bricks? Do you spend most of your time on
straw, sticks or bricks? Think about it, I will discuss it in more
detail over the next few weeks, but sit back somewhere during this
week and answer the question for yourself. Jesus came and told us
that we must build our house on a solid rock; otherwise our house
will collapse at the first storm that comes our way. On what is
your house built? With what is it built? Are you spending most of
your time on things that have no eternal value, the straw in this
life? Or are you building with bricks? I am sure you all inherently
want to say your life is full of bricks, things that will last even
if the wolf comes and tries to take it away. But is it really? Is
that where you focus all your time and attention? We will work
through it during the next couple of weeks, but be honest with
yourself. Being honest is normally the first step towards change.
May this change be one that glorifies Him and help you to serve Him
better.
Father, we want to build houses
that will last. We want to focus on things that have eternal value
and not on the straw of this life. Your Word tells us that we must
focus our attention on what is going on in Heaven and not on what
goes down here on earth. Please help us to do just that. In Jesus'
Name. Amen
"…set your sights on the
realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the
place of honor and power. Let Heaven fill your thoughts. Do not
think only about things down here on earth." Colossians 3:1,
2