What kind of foundation is your life built on?
Jesus’ most famous, most studied, possibly most challenging words are found in the Sermon on the mount. After multiple teachings on how to live distinctly as one of His disciples, Jesus ends this passage of scripture with an invitation:
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Matthew 7: 24-27 NLT
Like any good storyteller, Jesus is painting a picture for us of two scenarios. Both include a person tasked with building a house. Both will encounter circumstances beyond their control. And yet, the outcome of the house is all pending on what kind of foundation it’s standing on.
I appreciate Eugene Peterson’s modern translation of Jesus’ words in the Message version of this text. He writes,
“These words I speak to you are not INCIDENTAL additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are FOUNDATIONAL words, words to build a life on.”
Jesus’ words aren’t optional upgrades. They aren’t add-ons to the life you already have. They are FOUNDATIONAL. Here’s the thing about words:
Words help us give meaning to ideas.
Our hearts are stirred toward belief through words.
Words often inspire us.
But, not all the words we read and hear today are words that we can stand on. Not all words are solid enough to build an entire life on!
God, The Rock
As I was driving the other day, I saw a sign posted in a yard that quoted a famous line from the Sermon on the mount. It was The Golden Rule. You know….Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.
If only LIVING Jesus’ words were as simple as posting a sign in your yard OR hitting the “share” button on social media OR wearing His words on a t-shirt or a clever bumper sticker. But, they aren’t simple, easy, or even, often quotable.
Yet, Jesus tells us that our lives will withstand the harshest conditions if we will choose to build our life on His words!
The house that was sustained in the storm was built on the ROCK. The phrase “the rock” is a poetic reference to God that the disciples would have quickly resonated with. The book of Psalms includes almost 20 references to God as “MY ROCK” or “THE rock.”
“God alone is my ROCK and my salvation, my fortress; I will never be shaken.” I
Psalm 62:2 NLT
In three of the four gospels, Jesus references Himself as the “cornerstone” that the builders rejected. The disciples would have known that when Jesus said build your house on the ROCK, He was speaking about His words…..His ways…. and His God! Any other foundation would be considered sand.
I haven’t built on sand but I have walked on sand. I would describe sand as: Unsteady. Easily moveable. Blown by a light breeze. Shifts under any amount of weight. That doesn’t sound like the kind of surface anyone would want to build on!
Two Builders
Jesus describes one builder as WISE and the other as FOOLISH. The difference between these two builders isn’t that one was a better builder OR that he had all the right tools OR even that he possessed all the knowledge to build.
The difference was in the DOING.
Both builders are capable of HEARING. They both understand, are able to learn, and can comprehend Jesus’ words. But, only one RESPONDS to what he has heard with action. He hears and he DOES.
Jesus’ brother in the book of James echoes this concept of responding to the teachings of Jesus. James 1:22 reads, “Be DOERS of the word, and not hearers ONLY, deceiving yourself.”
James continues in this passage by giving us another image of what being a hearer only looks like. He describes a person who studies his face in the mirror and as soon as his reflection isn’t visible, he forgets what he looks like.
A hearer of Jesus’ words, without implementing them into their life, loses sight of their identity. They forget who they are and how they are supposed to live.
How are we being formed?
“The sad irony of our day is we can be deeply committed to BEING a Christian but NOT BE deeply formed by Christ.”
Rich Villodas, The narrow path
Being FORMED by Jesus’ words and His ways are the necessary work for building a strong foundation. In our world, many people SAY they are following Jesus but are they standing on solid ground or on sinking sand? Are they secure in their identity in Jesus or do they seem to collapse under the pressures of this world?
Jesus reminds His disciples in a word picture of torrential rains, flood waters rising, and howling winds that external things will come to put pressure on your house. Those storms could be:
An unexpected job loss.
A diagnosis for you or a family member.
A relationship crisis.
Financial stressors.
Loss of someone you love.
Hopes and dreams deferred.
All of these circumstances are out of our control and can arrive in a SUDDEN moment or, be like a slow burn over time. But they are coming for both builders, so we need to decide which kind of builder we will be: hearers or DOERS? Which foundation will we be standing on when the storms come?
In next week’s blog, we’ll spend some time examining the foundation of our lives and discussing how to repair cracks we uncover in our self-reflection. For today, what is God stirring in you? How is he getting your attention as you consider what words are shaping you or what storms have put pressure on your life?