In December 2001, the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" was finally reopened to the public after having been closed for almost a dozen years. During that time, engineers completed a $25 million renovation project designed to stabilize the tower. They removed 110 tons of dirt, and reduced its famous lean by about sixteen inches. Why was this necessary? Because the tower has been tilting further and further away from vertical for hundreds of years, to the point that the top of the 185-foot tower was seventeen feet further south than the bottom, and Italian authorities were concerned that if nothing was done, it would soon collapse.

What was the problem? Bad design? Poor workmanship? An inferior grade of marble? No. The problem was what was underneath. The sandy soil on which the city of Pisa was built was just not stable enough to support a monument of this size. The tower had no firm foundation. (1)


(1)(from Alan Perkins via ) from PreachingNow

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A parable has been told of a carpenter, who on the verge of retirement, was coaxed into building one last home by a wealthy client.  The carpenter was pressed by his own thoughts to put his working days behind him, so he made decisions to cut corners on the project.  He used inferior materials and his workmanship was suspect, at best.  Clearly his heart was not in the work.  Eventually, the carpenter finished the home.  It looked good from the outside, yet the carpenter felt guilty, as he knew the quality of the home was not up to his old standards.

On the day that the wealthy client was to take possession of the home, the carpenter received word from the client, saying, “I’m aware of your reputation as a builder.  I know how hard you’ve worked for your clients throughout your career.  So, I wanted to reward you at your retirement.  I’m giving you the house you’ve just built.”  The carpenter was shocked!  If he had only known beforehand that this was to be his home, he would have built it with the finest materials and workmanship.  But, now it was too late.
This parable reminds me that we all build our lives, much like a carpenter builds a house.  Our home-building materials are “what” we build our lives with and include characteristics such as faith, love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and kindness (or their opposites).  And our workmanship looks at the “how” we build our lives.  Are we living purposefully, pursuing excellence, working with all our hearts, in the name of Jesus and for his glory?  Or, has shoddy workmanship been the story of our lives?  My own confession: Too often I forget that I’m building my own house.  How about you?

One day, the house-building project that is our life, will be completed.  And, each of us will stand before the Lord and give an account for our workmanship.  Don’t be like the carpenter in the parable.  Be prepared.  Build intentionally.  Build it right.  Our motivation ought to be to hear the Saviour say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”(2)


(2) [Jim Liebelt posted in HomeWord Devotionals by www.homeword.com.au]

from The Daily Mail List 22 June 2007

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Many years ago, a visitor to America stood in the middle of Wall street and said to himself, "Here is the power and greatness of America."

Shortly afterwards, he traveled to Washington D.C.. and stood in the middle of the rotunda of the Capitol and beheld the statues of the country's greatest statesmen.

He said himself, "Ah, here is the greatness of America."

Later, he found himself in the heartland of Iowa. It was noon as he visited a family farm. The bell was rung on the back porch, the rest of the family, plus the hired man came in from the fields. He watched as they washed up by the pump, then they all gathered around the table piled high with food.

The visitor saw the farmer reach for the large family Bible. He read from Psalm 90, then everyone bowed their head. in prayer as the farmer prayed a simple prayer expressing his love to God his pledge of continuing service, and his gratitude for ail of his blessings.

"Now, II said the stranger to himself, "now, I have seen the true greatness of America."

He was reminded of a verse from his childhood from Deutronomy. where God said,

"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul; and you shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house"

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Luther says in one of his sermons: "He is called a Christian because he clings with his heart to this Saviour who has ascended to the Father, and he believes that for his sake and through Christ he has God's grace and everlasting salvation and life."

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A student in Providence on his way to classes at Brown University used to stop and watch the workmen walking along the steel girders of a skyscraper. He would get tight inside when heavy winds were blowing - a worker might fall. Then one morning the terrible thing happened: he saw a workman fall.

A foreman came down from the construction and the student heard him say, "The fool was leaning against the wind! I told him to quit leaning against the wind. He was new at this game or he wouldn't have done it."

Along the New England coast, especially mornings, a brisk wind blows in from the ocean. It is easier to work by leaning against it a little. But experienced workers know that the wind is not always steady and you can topple to your death.

There was a parable for us. How often we get to leaning against the wind in life against something which is just as fickle, unstable, and uncertain as the winds that blow.

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We're not working this faith for our personal advantage.  it's working us. William Willimon