REMEMBER THE MISSION
In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial to her. The shah placed his wife's casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years into the venture, the Shah's grief for his wife gave way to a passion for the project.
One day while he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over a wooden box, and he had some workers throw it out. It was months before he realized that his wife's casket had been destroyed. The original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction. They built the Taj Mahal, but they forgot the reason for the building. They forgot what their mission truly was!
(Dr. James Dobson, Coming Home, Timeless Wisdom for Families, (Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton; 1998), p. 122)
We must keep our eyes on the prize. If we don't, we will end up not building our lives correctly. They will be built without solid walls, without solid construction. But when we keep our eyes on the finish line, our lives will be built securely in the power of Christ!
(From Jonathan Fallwell’s Sermon "Preparing to Build-6")