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ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUILDING FOR

ETERNITY, I LEARNED FROM BUILDING A HOUSE.

It was a very ordinary sight.

So ordinary, in fact, that in all likeliness no one else even saw it – I mean really
saw it. It was an occurrence that happens every day, in cities large and small all across
the country, and that disappears into the background because of how very unspecial it is.
In fact, the reason that sight is burned into my mind is not the oddness of the event, but
the oddness of the thought that occurred to me at that moment.
There, two men stood. On the city sidewalk – in front of the elegant office tower.
They were about the same height, and about the same age (late 50’s), though from that
point on there was no further similarity. For one of them had just come out of the office
building. He was clearly an educated, cultured, successful man, dressed in a well-tailored
suit – his shirt pressed and his tie matching.
The other – well it’s hard to say just where he came from. Perhaps from the curb,
perhaps the ally. His clothes, if you could call them that, were ragged and dirty. So was
he. His face had three days worth of stubble, and seven of dirt. What he was doing there
wasn’t clear to me. But he was there. And at the moment my mind snapped the picture
that I still carry with me he just happened to be standing right next to the successful
businessman.
Sure, the contrast struck me. The clean and the crass. The good looking and the
good-for-nothing. The upright and the downright disgusting. But that alone isn’t what
caused me to take note of this accidental pairing of opposites.
What hit me that day was this. At birth, only their mothers could have told these
two apart. Both were fresh film, waiting to be exposed. They were clay, waiting to be
formed. But somewhere along the way, choices were made, challenges were either
undertaken or overlooked, substances were either abused or refused. At first, these
choices may have seemed to have little impact. But inevitably their lives were etched by
the acid of experience and hardened in the oven of time.
Until this day when I saw them. When I saw them it was clear – NEITHER ONE
COULD BECOME THE OTHER. Their lives were fixed by the choices they had made.
They had each built the house in which they now lived. That is what struck me that day.
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Likewise, each of us is building our own house, our own character, our own
destiny. Isaiah speaks of Heaven as a place where each man will build his own house and
live in it. On earth, in terms of character development, we’re doing that already. We are
stuck with what we build for ourselves.

My wife and I have some experience with house building. A few years ago we
undertook the job of being the general contractor on our own house. Those of you who
have done this, will smile when I tell you that we were talked into doing this by a friend
who told us how easy it would be. It wasn’t. He told us how much money we could save
by building our dream home. We didn’t.
But we did learn a great deal. And so I’d like to offer some observations on house
building, to you, my fellow contractors.
In 1990 Robert Fulghum wrote a book that became an immediate best seller. This
book, All I Really need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, offered such pearls of
wisdom as: “Share everything.” “Play fair.” “Don’t hit people.” “Clean up your own
mess.” “Take a nap every afternoon.” “When you go out into the world, hold hands and
stick together.” All of this is good advice. But with all due respect, I’m not interested in
just becoming a well-adjusted, fully functional part of human society. Quite frankly, I
want to go to heaven.
So with apologies to Robert Fulghum, I’d like to suggest that ALL I REALLY
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUILDING FOR ETERNITY, I LEARNED FROM
BUILDING A HOUSE.
For example, I learned that it’s important to Study the Plan. The plan, you see, is
more than just a random collection of sketches and lines. It’s more than just instructions
and rules. Properly understood, it contains the vision of the completed project. While at
first it may be confusing to look at, as you study it more, you begin to catch a glimpse of
the finished house, something that is far bigger than the plans. This is critical to the
contractor, because as loaded as the plans are with information, they don’t tell the whole
story. They don’t tell you where all the lights will be or where all the plugs are. They
don’t tell you about carpet color or tub styles. But if you study the plan, you will start to
get a picture of what the completed house will look like, the character that it will portray,
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the style it will wear. And when you finally know the plans that well, then the other
details are easy to fill in.
So it is with us. The plan has been given to us. It’s not always easy to
understand, and some of the information seems contradictory on the face of it. But as we
diligently study this plan, we will begin to catch a glimpse of Perfect Pattern, the One
who is the model into which we aspire to grow. The plan doesn’t list all the minutia that
we would like to find there; things like “Is it alright to go bike riding on the Sabbath?”
and “What does God want me to do today?” After all, if the Bible listed all that detail, it
would become – in itself – the end of our study. And that would be so sad. Instead, we
need to study the plan to better see Jesus. And as we get acquainted with Him, all those
other questions of life find their answer.

We learned a lot about foundations as well.

Our house was built on steep hillside that necessitated a daylight basement. In
order to meet the building codes and keep the City happy, we had to have the entire
foundation and basement plan designed and certified by an engineer. The foundation she
designed was massive. The basement walls were built like a bomb shelter. They were
one foot thick with 5/8” rebar tied on a one-foot grid. The footings of the foundation
were the biggest I’ve ever seen. And we were OK with that. We were building a 3600
sq-ft three-story house on a hillside. The stronger the foundation, the better with us. We
knew that The house is only as good as the foundation.
Of course, all Christians already know that. Jesus himself told the story that we
read in the opening scripture. The New American Standard tells it this way. “Everyone
who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is
like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock;
and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it,
because it had been well built.” The reason I like Luke’s recitation of this story better
than Matthew’s is that Luke noted that the wise man “dug deep”. Our house could not
have stood securely on that hillside if our excavator had not dug deep. He couldn’t just
remove the topsoil. He couldn’t just dig to a specified depth. He had to keep digging
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until he got down to the bedrock that had been glacially compacted. Only then could he
stop.
Are you digging deep? Are you going past the surface fluff? Are you studying to
know that you are down to the bedrock?
It’s interesting to note that not only does the Bible say that Jesus is the bedrock on
which to build. It also says that he is the foundation of our house of faith. Paul wrote his
brethren in Corinth that, “…no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
I’m here to tell you, you can’t build a house on a hillside that will stand for 50
years, let alone eternity, without a foundation. Is Jesus Christ the underpinning of the
house that you are building? The foundation is the part of the house that bears the
weight, and supports the rest of the house. On Whom do you trust? Do you pass on the
weight of life to Jesus, or do you think your own strength is sufficient? Are you trying to
be your own foundation?
You can answer these questions only for yourself. And you can do that by truly
answering these questions; “Am I spending time each day with Jesus?” “Am I studying
the plan He gave to reveal Himself to me?” “Am I learning to depend more and more on
Jesus, and finding my rest in Him?”
If you can’t answer these questions “Yes” at this time, then now is the time to do
something about it. I promise you that the storms that Jesus said would blow on the
house are coming. They will blow down any building that is not built on the one true
foundation. The good news today is that if all the winds of hell were released at the same
moment, they would be unable to tear down any house built on that perfect foundation.
I need that assurance. Don’t you?

We had another concern about our house being on a hillside. We were part way
down the hill, and we were concerned that with all the rain that we can get some winters,
that the pressure of the ground water against the foundation would develop leaks in our
basement. And we wanted a basement that would never have a drop of water in it.
To accomplish this, we spent a bit of extra money to install a special drainage
material to the uphill-facing walls of the basement. This material, Hydroway 300, was
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made in such a way as to take any water that came against it, and drop it harmlessly down
to the footing drain at the bottom of the foundation, where it would be carried away. And
then, after we installed it, we buried it! What a shame! We took all that effort, all that
expense, all that technical excellence and buried it where no one would ever see it.
But was it wasted? No, we did indeed get the results we wanted. We never once
had so much as a drop of water work its way into our basement. We were learning
another important house-lesson, The things that will never be seen by anyone else are
just as important as the things that will show to the public.
What if we decided that since no one would ever see it, that we didn’t need to
install any insulation in the walls? Or that we could use undersized floor joists? (After
all, no one can see them.) Would these choices make a difference in the quality of the
house? Would you want to live in a house where these corners were cut?
But now I have to ask, am I cutting corners in my life when I think no one will
see? Am I putting in embarrassingly bad materials when I don’t think others will know?
If so, will such choices affect the outcome of my construction?
Jesus warned us about the illusion of secrecy. In Luke 12:2-3 we read, “But there
is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you
have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
In His day, the Pharisees had lost sight of this truth. They were diligent about
anything that others could see. But they forgot that the hidden things were just as
important. In all of scripture, the sharpest criticism that Jesus ever offered was to these
exalted leaders. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of
dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men,
but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
If He didn’t let them get away with it, I have no reason to believe that He’ll let
me. And so I must remember, The things that will never be seen by anyone else are
just as important as the things that will show to the public.
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Whenever a house is built, unexpected problems arise. I remember getting a call

one day informing me that we had a problem out at the job site, and that two of the
subcontractors were locked in a heated argument about whose fault it was. I rushed out
to the site, and we had a meeting. In this case, both the framer [who incidentally was a
master carpenter] and the joist manufacturer claimed that they had followed the
instructions on the print, but that the parts just wouldn’t go together as the drawing
showed. Soon my head was spinning with charges and counter-charges, and I was
beginning to see that this problem was going to cost someone – probably my wife and me
– a bit of money.
About the time that I was reaching a state of panic, my framer turned to me [Did I
mention that he was a master carpenter?] and quietly said, “Let me take care of it.” And
with that sentence, it was over. I didn’t have to determine why the problem arose. I
didn’t have to fix the blame. I didn’t even have to fix the problem. All I had to do was to
let the Master Carpenter do what I could not.
I’ve tried to remember that lesson. When problems come up, take them to the
Master Carpenter.
Incidentally, what was Joseph’s trade? It’s interesting to note that Scripture
nowhere tells us that Joseph was a carpenter. We presume that he was, because that was
Jesus’ trade, and such trades were often passed down from father to son. It does tell us
that Jesus was a carpenter in Mark 6:3. There we read, “Is not this the carpenter, the son
of Mary?” And because he was just a carpenter “they took offense at Him.”
I like knowing that Jesus is a carpenter. I like knowing that when problems arise,
I have a Master Carpenter that I can turn them over to. I’m glad to know that this Master
Carpenter has gone off to build me a home of unparallel grandeur, and that when that
Parade of Homes opens for public viewing, that I have a personal invitation to attend. “I
go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

As General Contractors, we were responsible for all the building materials. We

had to choose the materials and make sure that they were on hand when needed. At that
time, there was a relatively new siding product on the market called “LP” siding, and the
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salesman at the building supply store (a company called BMC) urged us to use it. He told
us that some of the early material had some record of problems, but that the manufacturer
had corrected the deficiencies. For some reason I cannot even remember, we chose not
to. My neighbor chose the LP because it was the cheapest alternative. (Or so he
thought.)
Likewise we chose not to use the latest in advanced roofing materials, a product
called Woodruff. This man-made material had a great look and a 25-year warrantee. At
least it did for the first year. Shortly thereafter it was downgraded to 10 years, then it was
taken off the market, and checks were mailed out from the manufacturer for damages.
We were so glad we hadn’t used any of these materials in our home. But the
experience reinforced an essential house-building rule: When building with the future
in mind, use high quality materials.
Why should we settle for less than the best in the house that we are building for
eternity? Look at the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation. Look at the
quality of materials that Jesus is using there. Gold pure as glass, pearls as large as doors,
and radiant light everywhere. Does it not behoove us to build with the best materials we
can? Such materials as laughter and joy, family and worship, health and exercise, peace
and love. These materials are abundant and free. (Unlike the materials that we used in
Auburn.) These materials are available directly from the manufacturer, so you don’t need
to get them through BMC – or ABC or NBC or MTV or ESPN or any of the other usual
building material suppliers.

Another truth that became apparent as we built was that Building a home takes
time. You might as well make up your mind to be patient about it. Even if the delays are
few, the processes are many, and they must be scheduled sequentially. What would have
happened if I had decided to wait until three weeks before the move-in date, and then
scheduled all the workmen to come and do their jobs at the same time? Could you
imagine the chaos if the roofers were trying to put the roof on the walls at the same time
the framers were trying to build the walls on the foundation at the same time excavator
was trying to dig the hole for the foundation while the concrete was being poured? It
can’t be done that way. Building takes time.
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Going through college, I almost forgot that fact. I learned to rely on “cramming”
to get results. Why do the paper before it’s due, if you can get as good a result by staying
up the entire night before it has to be turned in? Why prepare for the test by regular study
when all that information can be stuffed into the mind for rapid recall the night before the
test?
But what would happen if a farmer tried those methods? Let’s see. The corn
needs to be picked in early September, so if we plant it at the end of August, and then
water it a lot, and turn on some extra grow lights…. It would be a disaster, wouldn’t it?
Knowing I had to speak today, I decided to lose 20 lbs, so that I’d look my best.
However, not being one to rush into things, I decided to start my weight-loss effort right
after dinner last night. Did I reach my goal? No. Processes take time.
Likewise, building our character is a process. It can’t be “crammed”. It can’t be
rushed. I’ve heard people say that when they see the time of trouble starting that they’ll
get serious about God. I’ve heard a young man say that youth was too fleeting to be
wasted on being good – that there was plenty of time for that when he was too old to have
a good time. But what is the chance that the character development of a lifetime can be
crammed into a weekend?
It can’t be done that way. No, it is today that we are building by the choices that
we are making. The house of tomorrow is determined by the hammer strokes of today.
The decisions that we will make under the stressful times of the future are being
determined by the characters that we are building today. God cannot be mocked.
Whatever a man builds, he will have to live with. And that takes time. Start today.

As a corollary to the above rule, that building takes time, is the fact that though
the outside may be done quickly, the inside takes years. We were able to meet
minimum occupancy standards and move in about eight months. The outside was
completed, and the casual observer had no idea what the inside of the house looked like.
To save money, we had decided that I would do the bulk of the inside work. That meant
painting, laying the hardwood floors, laying the tile, hanging the interior doors, trimming
out the windows, installing cabinets, building the countertops, designing and building the
fireplace mantles, and a hundred other tasks yet had to be done. These tasks took five
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years. Five years of evenings, weekends and vacations. Five very long years in which
the neighbors all thought our house was done, but we knew it was still under
construction.
Likewise, baptism is a wonderful event. It’s great to see the outward symbol of a
life that has been changed. But if – inside your house – it seems as if the house is under
construction… well, it just shows you’re normal. Don’t get discouraged. Conversion
may take place in a minute, but sanctification – the process of growing up into Christ –
takes a lifetime. It looks as if are destined to live in a construction zone until Jesus
returns for us.

We learned so many more lessons that there just isn’t time to talk about. Lessons
like “It always costs more to build that you anticipate”, and “Other people will build
on your house – make sure that they are quality people.” We learned that “We all
have to pass final inspection.” I personally learned a great lesson, “Listen to your
wife.” I wish I had time for that story.
But one final story needs to be told. Early in the process of building our home we
met Veronica. We were destined to get to know Veronica quite well. She was the City
Building Inspector that was responsible for confirming that all the new buildings in our
area were built up to Code standards. We had heard horror stories about this woman
before we met her. We had a neighbor who disliked her passionately, as she did him.
And need I mention that whenever Veronica went to inspect our neighbor’s house she
found things wrong with what he had done – and he found things wrong with her. She
completely shut his job-site down on one occasion and sent all the subcontractors home.
Those two fought more than my goats. He was certain that he knew more about building
homes than any woman would know, and she was certain that she had enough authority
to force him to respect her.
We took a different approach to Veronica. When she came to our job-site we were
friendly to her. We even asked her opinion, and then we listened to her. When we saw a
potential problem coming up, we would ask her how she would handle it. We treated her
like a person, and found out that if you got her talking about her animals or about
backpacking, that she could talk for hours.
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The difference in attitude between our neighbor and us grew sharper as the time
for final inspection drew near. Each day our neighbor grew more apprehensive that
Veronica was going to try to find some way to deny him occupancy. He had reason to
feel that way. Since by then she viewed us as her friends, Veronica actually confided in
us that she had discovered a mistake that our neighbor had made building his basement,
and that when the time came for final inspection that she was not only going to deny
occupancy, but that she would declare the building unsafe and require major foundation
and basement rework. She was going to hit him, and hit him hard.
The only thing that saved him was that on the day that he called the City to
request his final inspection, Veronica was sick. She returned to work the next day and
was shocked, angered and disappointed to find that another inspector had signed off on
the work and given the OK for move-in.
Our experience was totally different. We knew – and Veronica knew – that our
plan contained elements that did not meet the City guidelines. The entire basement could
be split into a separate apartment, but the Code said that couldn’t be done. We had two
kitchens, but the Code said we could only have one.
Long in advance we spoke to Veronica about these problems. In response, she
looked about the unfinished interior of our home and said, “I only see one kitchen.”
From that point on, we had no fear of the final inspection. Not only had we learned how
much easier the job goes if you become friends with the inspector, but we had learned
that if the inspector is your friend, you have nothing to fear in the final inspection.
Jesus Himself said it in John 5:24. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My
word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment,
but has passed out of death into life.”
It’s all about being friends with the Inspector.

David E. Clover
38011 SE Nichols Hill Rd.
Washougal, WA
(360) 835-1771