It was Freddy’s 9th birthday, and when he opened his gift from his grandparents, he yelled with joy.  It was the lego castle building set that he had wanted.  He jumped up to hug his grandparents.  “Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa.  I can’t wait to start building!” 

 

After his party was over, Freddy opened his new lego set and spread out the pieces on his bed.  He immediately saw some pieces that he knew went together.  Freddy sat on his bed and began to work.  Within a few minutes he had some of the castle put together.  However, it kept falling over as he reached for other pieces.  His dad looked in and asked, “How’s it going?”

 

Freddy pouted, “It won’t stand up.  It keeps falling over.”

 

His Dad came in to look.  “Freddy, the problem is that you don’t have the right foundation.  You are trying to build it on your bed.  Do you remember the Bible passage you learned about in church last week?”

 

Freddy nodded.  “Yes, it was Matthew 7:24-27. It was about a wise man building his house on the rock and a foolish man building his house on the sand.” 

 

“That’s right.  The rock is Jesus.  We need to build our lives on Him so that we will stand firm no matter what happens. We have to start with the right foundation in our lives, and the right foundation is repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Jesus to save us from the punishment we deserve.  Faith in Jesus is the only right foundation!  If we don’t start with that, our lives will be just like the castle you are trying to build on your bed.  It will fall.” 

 

Freddy smiled at his dad, “Thanks for reminding me.  I’m glad my life has the right foundation.  Now I see why it is so important.  I’m going to move my castle to my desk so that it can have the right foundation too.” 

 

The next day, Freddy had a new problem.  He was sure he knew what the castle door was supposed to look like, but he couldn’t make it look that way.  He was frowning when his mom looked in.

 

“What’s wrong, Freddy?” she asked in concern.

 

“I can’t do it.” Freddy whined.  “No matter what I try, it still turns out wrong.” 

 

His mom looked carefully at his desk where he was working on his castle.  It only took her a moment to recognize the problem.  “Freddy, you are making the same mistake many people make with their lives.”

 

Freddy looked up quickly, “What do you mean, Mom?”

 

His mother walked over and picked up a book off the floor near the bed and brought it to Freddy.  “You are trying to build it correctly, but you aren’t using the instruction book to show you how.  Without this book, the castle will never look the way it was designed to look.  In the same way, God gave us the Bible so that we could learn how to build lives that look the way He designed them to look.  Sadly, many people never read or study their Bibles.  They may go to church and listen to the pastor, which is great; but, if they don’t read the Bible for themselves, they will be missing out on many of the things God wanted them to know. The Bible is God’s instruction book for our lives.” 

 

Freddy shook his head, “The Bible is too hard to understand.” 

 

His mom smiled.  “Some parts of it are hard to understand even for big people like me.  But, that’s why God gave us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us.  He helps us to understand it when we ask Him to and when we take time to read it.  If we never read it because we don’t think we will understand it, will He be able to help us understand?” Freddy shook his head.  His mother smiled.  “We need to read it, and keep reading and studying it until we do understand.  We also need to ask God to help us understand.” 

 

Freddy jumped up and went over to the little table by his bed.  He picked up his Bible and sat on the bed.  Looking up with a smile, he said, “Thanks Mom.  I think I’ll take a break from making my castle for a little while and spend time reading God’s instruction book.  Then, I’ll start using my castle instruction book, too.” 

 

The next day, Freddy was hard at work on his castle again as soon as he had done his chores.  However, the work was slow.  Even though he had been working on the castle for several days, it felt like it would never be done.  He loved legos, but he was eager to see the finished castle.  He stared at the large number of pieces spread out in his room with a feeling of despair.  Would it ever be done?  There were so many pieces left. 

 

His grandma looked in and saw Freddy with his head in his hands staring down at his lego pieces.  She walked in and put a hand on his shoulder, “What’s wrong Freddy?”

 

“Grandma, look at how many pieces are left; I’ll never finish!” Freddy exclaimed. 

 

His Grandma looked at all the pieces.  Then she looked at the castle.  “Freddy, look at how much you have already accomplished.  You’ve gotten a lot done.  Don’t focus on all the pieces that are left.  That only discourages you.  Instead, focus on where you started and where you are now.  Then you will be encouraged by the progress that has been made and excited to keep going.  People make the same mistake in life.  They look at all the things in their lives that are still wrong and they want to give up.  They think they will never be able to live the way God wants them to live and so they want to give up trying to follow God.”

 

“That’s what Satan wants.  He wants us to be discouraged so that we stop trying.  However, God wants us focus on Him and what He has already done in our lives.  God doesn’t try to show us every wrong thing in our lives all at once.  Instead, He focuses our attention on one, or maybe a few, areas.  Then, as we grow closer to Him in those areas, He shows us new areas that need attention.”

 

“Just as you can’t put the whole castle together at once, you can’t put a godly life together all at once.  It takes time, effort, and a willingness to keep at it.  Learn to avoid Satan’s temptation to focus on the wrong things, and make sure you stay focused on the Lord.  When you start to feel discouraged, look at all the progress that has already been made in your life.  Then, you will be encouraged to keep growing closer to the Lord and becoming more like Him.” 

 

Freddy gave his grandma a hug.  “Thanks, Grandma.  I will remember.  I won’t let Satan discourage me.  I want to be as much like Jesus as possible.  I also want to finish this castle that you and Grandpa bought for me.  I won’t give up.” 

 

Later, Freddy’s 10-year-old sister, Sally, knocked on his open door and asked, “Can I help, Freddy?” 

 

He shook his head, “No, I don’t need any help.  I can do it all on my own.” 

 

Their grandpa heard it as he walked by and stopped.  He said, “Freddy that reminds me of a mistake many people make in life.” 

 

Sally and Freddy both looked at their grandpa in confusion.  Sally asked, “What do you mean, Grandpa?”

 

Their Grandpa gave her a hug and said, “Freddy can build the castle all by himself if he wants, and that’s okay.  It is his toy.  However, many people try to do the same thing as Christians.  They think they don’t need anyone’s help, and they try to live the way God wants them to live all on their own without a church family or Christian friends to help.  However, that is not the way God wants us to live because life is more enjoyable and easier when we have people around who love us and want to help us.  They can warn us away from making bad decisions.  They can encourage us when things are hard.  They can help us to understand things that confuse us.  They can also help us in many other ways.  It is very lonely trying to do everything alone.  It is also a lot harder.” 

 

Sally looked up with a smile, “You mean like the verse in Proverbs 27:17 that I learned last month, the one about iron sharpening iron and people sharpening each other?”

 

Her grandpa nodded.  “Yes.  That’s it.  We can help each other to become the people God created us to be if we will work together instead of trying to do life all on our own.” 

 

Freddy looked thoughtful.  “Thanks, Grandpa.”  Looking at his sister, he said, “I think it was a mistake to say I didn’t want your help, Sally.  It would be more fun and easier to build my castle if you help. So, if you still want to help, I’ll let you.” 

 

Sally smiled with joy.  Soon, the brother and sister were hard at work.  The adults smiled as they heard them talking and laughing together.  That night, when they looked in, they were amazed to see how much the two children had already accomplished together. 

 

Finally the castle was finished.  Freddy and Sally looked at the castle with pride.  They called their parents and grandparents to come see it too.  Freddy told his family, “Thanks for helping me make my castle, and thanks for teaching me more about how to live the way God wants me to live.  Every time I look at my lego castle, it will remind me of the things you taught me so that I can grow to be ever more like God.”