I have heard people say my life sucks. Well I am sure we have all felt that way at some time or another, but like I often told my kids in children’s church everything points back to God. Jesus often spoke in parables and this particular one is about building houses. Now a house is only as good as its foundations. How foolish it would be, Jesus implies, for a person to put thousands of dollars into building a magnificent house, with beautiful interior decor and the latest household gadgets but forgetting the simplest pre-requisite. The ocean view from the balcony might be breath-taking but if the builder hasnt paid adequate attention to what is buried under the building, namely the foundation, the house and its occupants are heading for disaster. The two houses that Jesus described looked okay. To the observer there was no difference – but that was on a fine day. But when the first severe storm came along, one was reduced to a pile of rubble. The man who sat among the rubble, looking at his neighbor’s house standing tall and strong in spite of the storm, must have contemplated how much life sucks. He has spent as much or even more on his house and look at it now. But Jesus doesnt have much sympathy for the man sitting among the rubble that was once his magnificent house. He says that a person is a fool if he allows himself to be buried in his own house. A person is a fool if he throws away his money on those parts of his house that have no function except to build up his own glory, while at the same time economizes on the most important and very functional part of the house, the foundation. When life sucks what does Jesus consider to be solid foundation material on which to build our lives? He says, Anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. That’s the solid foundation on which Jesus wants everyone to build. This is one of the most important pieces of advice that we are given. Note again Jesus’ words, the person who hears these words of mine and obeys them is building his or her life on a safe and secure foundation. If you really want to know where to find true wisdom, help, strength, encouragement, support, and comfort listen to what Jesus has to say and obey. When life sucks there is nothing that can replace building your house of life on the rock – the rock of Jesus. Without a doubt there will come those times in life, when we will simply say, It sucks. This is where the foundations on which we build our life become so important. Jesus is saying to us, It’s foolish to hear Gods Word but not believe it, to not put it into practice, and to not build ones life on it. He said, The people who are really blessed are the ones who hear and obey Gods message! Luke 11:28. James says something similar when he wrote, Obey Gods message! Dont fool yourselves by just listening to it” James 1:22 You see, it’s easy to hear Gods Word. We listen to it with our ears, we nod our heads in agreement, but no sooner have we closed our Bibles or walked out of the church, than we forget what we have heard. We continue on our way without really taking in that the words we heard is Gods message to us personally for our every day journey; that God is speaking to us as individuals and offers us his words of encouragement and hope especially in those times when life sucks. The problem is that we don’t associate what we are hearing with what is happening in our every day life. The words of Jesus don’t penetrate to the point of making any changes in the way we face our problems or the way we live. This is what Jesus meant when he said, Anyone who hears these words of mine and does not obey them (that means doesnt actually apply my word to what is happening in their every day lives) is like a foolish man who built his house on sand Nothing delights Satan more than when we listen to what God has to say but don’t really hear it. We let it go in one ear and right out the other side. We hear it but it makes no impact on our lives. When this happens, it might be just the moment God is telling us something really important that will sustain us in a future storm. A fact of life in this world is that there will always be storms. No one is immune to them. Jesus isnt telling us here to find storm free areas to build houses. Rather he is telling us how to build in order to withstand the storms that will come. This is a story about foundations. It’s about the strength and help that comes from God when life sucks.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 04:13:40 +0000
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