How to build your life on the rock
“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.” When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Matthew 7:24-29 NIV
Foundations help protect our physical homes from disaster. What’s our personal life built on? What’s our foundation to protect us from spiritual disaster?
In this parable in the gospel of Matthew we have an illustration of how and how not to pay attention to Jesus. What is a parable you may well ask? Well, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The context of this parable is that of a true disciple versus one that is false – the wise man builds his house on the rock while the foolish builds his house on the sand. This shows that hearing the words of Jesus is not the same as doing them.
The sad truth is this: Only those who actually do what He says are the true disciples, while those who hear without doing, and still imagine that they are building to survive the storms, are only deceiving themselves.
In verse 24 Jesus said “Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them” which means putting His teaching into practice day by day in all that we do is what builds strong foundations.
STOP and ask yourself the question. “What’s the foundation in my life?” Are we like the foolish man, are our lives built on sand? Jesus said that whoever heard his words and obeyed Him, would be like a wise man who built on a rock. That’s the type of house I want to be part of, how about you?
But if we only hear the wonderful words of Jesus and yet still go our own way and don’t do what He says, then we are like a foolish person, who builds his house on the sand! Just think about that, who would want to build a house on a soft sand?
Jesus is our Rock! He is the firm foundation that we can build our lives upon. And if we obey Jesus, and everything we are told in God’s word, the Bible, we have the assurance that no matter what flood beats upon us, no matter how fierce the storms of this life may get, we will never fall, we will never be moved. God is on our side and with Him, one is a majority!
God wants us to build securely upon the eternal Rock, the word of God. Let us put the important lessons of Christ into practice. He who is a hearer and not a doer of the word, Christ compares to the man who built his house upon the sand. It needs only the storm of temptation to break upon such, and the foundation they supposed so secure is swept away.
Yes, it does require hard work to do these things, but it will pay off in the long run. They provide a solid foundation for our lives, our families, our friendships and our future. Where is our starting place? We should study what Jesus taught about life and apply His teachings to how we live our lives.
Reading the Gospels gives us a sense of how Jesus lived. The Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus based His teachings on the laws and principles revealed in the Bible. Reading the entire Bible, deepens our understanding of how God thinks and explains even more the message Jesus taught while He was on earth. The Bible is a powerful foundation for living wisely and abundantly, weathering the inevitable storms of life and moving forward. God has you covered if you believe in His word.
If you are not confident that your foundation is secure, it’s never too late to shore your footings. Dig into Word of God to see what makes life work, and how to endure the storms of life – the Bible can offer you comfort and peace. We can help you with this too you do not have to make this journey on your own.
Reach out to us via:
- The Contact Us page on this website
- Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/halifaxchristadelphians/
We are ordinary people living every day lives and are here to help each other on our journey. We would love to hear from you!
Article by Sair. Photo by Trevor Cole on Unsplash
