“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”** Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)**
In our verses for today – at the end of the Sermon on the Mount - Jesus soberly and wisely presents us with two options – believe and receive or bash and crash. We are now held responsible for what we have heard (or read). Opportunity given. We can build our houses on Christ or we can build then on the shifting sands of the worldly or popular opinions of the day.
Foundations are important. Indeed, they are very important. Presently, someone is building a home near us. There was a very large hole (gorge, valley or whatever you want to call it) which they began to fill with a hefty combination of fill – huge rocks, shredded trees, gravel size rocks, dirt, etc. – compacting it as they went along. While I know less than nothing about land settling, my husband keeps saying – “if the foundation is not done correctly, they will have lots of problems with the house – settling problems.” This is exactly what Jesus is stating here but our Lord is not referring to actual houses rather our lives (which is even more important). If the foundation isn’t right in a life, the problems can be overwhelming, unsettling, upsetting and disturbing (to say the very least). If our core beliefs are not built on Christ and His Word but rather on what the world screams or our own limited opinions or perhaps on what our friends or neighbor may tell us or whatever the source may be, we are going to have “settling problems”. Jesus is quite explicit in our in our verses for today. It is His “Heads Up” to us. If foundations are important for houses, how much more so for our very lives.
The choice is ours. It is important to know what you believe and why you believe it. In our verses for today, Jesus gives us two options and we are held responsible for the choice we make. We want to be wise and not foolish rather understand what the will of the Lord is. Hearing and heeding the Lord’s Word is wisdom indeed.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”** Luke 6:46-49 (NIV)**