Kingdoms in Sand

“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”—1 John 2:17

Oh the wonderful days of summer! It’s hot, sunny, and time for the beach! I enjoy taking my children to the beach—watching them chase the waves and have the waves chase them. Seeing them run back and forth giggling whenever the water touches their little feet. It’s also fun watching them build things in the sand—taking their buckets filling them up to the brim with sand, watering it a bit to make sure it doesn’t fall apart, then turning it over quickly and firmly in order to make sure that it has a solid foundation. They pat the bucket making sure no sand sticks to the inside and then slowly pull it off to reveal a turret for their sandcastle. Slowly the castle takes shape—as they carefully and melodically build—lost in their creation—walls are made, a moat is dug, and sticks serve as flagpoles. Unknown to them, as they are busy in their construction, is the ever-rising tide. Slowly, it begins making its way up the shoreline. Just as they put the finishing touches on their wonderful sand kingdom, they turn to see the water lapping at their creation. It’s not too long before the tide rises even further, wiping away their day’s work in just a few short moments.

There is a spiritual parallel for us in my children’s creation. We too, like them, are busy constructing our own little kingdoms. We set ourselves up as kings and queens, judges and juries of what is true and right, the sole determiners of our destiny in our kingdoms made of sand. But our kingdoms are short-lived—the tide of God’s truth washes them all away.

As believers in Christ, we must be careful not to construct sandcastle kingdoms, but live and help build a kingdom that will endure forever—the kingdom of Christ. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom that no one or no thing can ever destroy. And those who inhabit that kingdom are individuals who do the will of God. It is only those who do the will of God that will abide in that kingdom and they will endure forever. Those who seek to build earthly sandcastle kingdoms might find their kingdom meriting some attention for a few brief moments, just as passersby noticed my children’s sandcastles, but like the sandcastle their kingdom will pass away. It just as our passage for today states, “…the world is passing away along with its desires.” The kingdoms of this world will not endure but will melt away just as the sand does to the ocean. However, those who do the will of God, or build the kingdom of Christ, will endure forever.

May I ask you something, dear one? Which kingdom are you building? Sandcastles of this world or the kingdom of Christ? Only one will endure, and I hope you choose the right one. Amen.