Building with Assurance

Back in January, we studied a passage of Scripture from Matthew 7 about some advice from Jesus himself. He told the story to stress the importance of his followers in hearing his teaching and doing his will. Jesus wants us to know that's the key to success. In the story he told, he said the person who hears and does his will, that person is like a man who built a house on a rock.  The adverse weather conditions, flooding, wind, rain and everything else beat against the house and it stood, because its foundation was built on a rock. 

The opposite one in Jesus' story is the man who built his house on the sand and when it was exposed to those same weather conditions, it fell. Building on the sand is never good.  Jesus wanted us to see the truth of his story so we could make the proper application to our lives. We have the choice of building lives on the solid foundation of doing the things Jesus taught us and asked us to put into practice. The house that fails is the illustration of a life built on the less dependable foundation, neglecting the teachings of the Master. 

I have repeated the basics of this story because of another story I heard recently, from some people who are settling the estate of deceased parents. Before their house can be sold, there are thousands of dollars of repairs which need to be made, because the concrete slab foundation is sinking. Their story went back about 30 years when their parents were looking for a new house. The land on which the house was built had been a draw through the subdivision. Fill dirt was hauled in and compacted. The ground was built up to the desired level. Engineers from the inspecting agencies examined the property, assuring the people the ground on which their house was built, was adequate. It was......for a time. Now, 30 years later, the concrete slab is no longer level. Closet doors will not close, cracks have appeared above the windows and doors, outside trim is spreading apart leaving gaps. 

That sad story adds another dimension to the story Jesus told. What if someone built their life on the things some "expert" had told them was a good foundation for living? On the surface it seemed like the right thing to do but when the storms and difficulties of life begin to close in, they found the expert was wrong.  A life fell apart and suffered disaster because it was not built on the foundation of The Solid Rock of Jesus' teachings. 

This is where we are made to realize our responsibilities in making proper choices. Matthew 7 has given us the story which is easy for us to understand. It's about foundations for living, based on hearing and doing what Jesus says, but it's also about so much more. The wisdom of one builder and the foolishness of the other, were the result of the decision each of them made personally. 

You and I have that same decision to make. Upon which foundation shall we build our lives? According to Jesus, the only secure, 100% adequate foundation centers around his words and then putting them to practice in our lives. He alone is the solid rock.

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