Life Built on the Rock

In the world of building, the foundation is the most important. You can have the most beautiful architecture and ornate visual appearance, but without a strong foundation, it will not last. Life is the same. We can skate along with the surface view of all things being right, but when the circumstances get tough, that surface view is wiped away by the cracks underneath. Jesus dealt with this as he wrapped up His greatest sermon.

“²⁴Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” – Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)

The above sounds a bit like “The Three Little Pigs”. But the above happened and was recorded first so “The Three Little Pigs” (first published in 1890) sounds a bit like Jesus.

Jesus often spoke in parable and as seen here, He sticks to that process. The foundation, as I noted earlier, is the most important part of building. As noted in the commentary of my ESV Bible, “a wise builder knew that he needed to dig several feet below the surface to the bedrock in order to establish the foundation for his house” as he was well aware of the shifting of sand that would come around the Sea of Galilee. The same can be said for us in our lives.

In our lives, what people see is that which is on the surface. As is understandable, we want people to see us as stable and strong. Well generally what we present only looks stable and strong. I have watched many a house flipping show where in the course of demolition once the surface is removed, a fragile or even nonexistent foundation is exposed. I know many people who are the same. For weeks on their social media profile, they are “#blessed” and the next they are devastated as everything has fallen apart.

I am not saying that we do not have times like that, where one day everything is good and the next we are struggling. Anything can happen in the course of a day. But, what I can say is that we do not have to be devastated with the change in circumstances. Jesus provides the foundation for us to build our lives on. He is the rock on which we stand.

“On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.”

The above is the refrain from the hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”. I have to build my life on that which is not going anywhere. The foundation of my life should be strong and unwavering. When my circumstances change, I should still stand firm on the foundation, knowing that I am gonna be alright. I have to know that whatever comes my way, I have the base of my life firmly on the Rock that is Jesus Christ and His unfailing love.

Where are you building your life? Are you more concerned with the life that everyone sees and forget about the changing circumstances that will come? What if you built your life on the Rock that is Jesus, knowing that whatever comes your way, He will never fail to keep you on solid ground?