What am I packing myself with?

The U2 lyric at the top of this blog ("You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been. A place that has to be believed to be seen... The only baggage you can bring is all that you can't leave behind.") has special significance to me because it reminds me of this verse:

"Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?"
(I Corinthians 3:10-16)

If everything about me that has no value will be burned off when I die, what will I have left to show for my life when I reach eternity? It's a sobering question.We hope we are doing things of lasting significance but sometimes that hope is tied strictly to our legacy on earth. We often forget the component that really counts, the buildings we are constructing on the foundation - which is Jesus.

The buildings aren't optional. We're all making one. The only difference is what we're choosing for materials. The temporal junk will dissolve like cotton candy when we pass out of time. But the eternal materials can't be destroyed, they can't be taken away. We couldn't even leave them behind if we wanted to!

"Walk on, walk on
What you got, they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight..."

Lyrics