Scaffolding

“The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan.” (from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.)

Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to hold workers and materials during the construction of a tall building.

What a great analogy for our role in God’s purpose. Scaffolding allows the workers to get higher, yet it’s just temporary. Everyone knows it’s going to come down once the building is constructed.

Scaffolding gets stepped on. It’s treated roughly. Similarly, we can expect to be treated carelessly and contemptuously while we are supporting God’s purpose. As long as our focus is on enlarging God’s sphere of influence, we will not mind if our contributions are not acknowledged.

What if a worker started embellishing and decorating the scaffolding and calling it the Main Tower? That sounds silly, right? Yet that is what we do when we give more importance to our lives, our work, and our purposes rather than what God is constructing.

We tend to see our life’s work, whether it is parenting, teaching, running a business, healing, or whatever, as our legacy. We correlate our worth and significance to this work. However our contributions are just a temporary skeleton that allows God to transport resources in building His Kingdom.