Three Lessons on House Building

Matthew 7:24-27: Three Lessons on House Building

"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."

1. When we build our house upon the rock, God strengthens us to endure the storms – not avoid them. I'm sure we've done this quite often. When hard times hit, we begin to wonder why we are going through this tough time. We try to recall what we possibly did or didn't do to cause this calamity in our lives. While the parable does not exactly focus on the causes for these turbulent times, we can see that the rains, floods, and wind occurred on both the house built on rock and the one build on sand. The rains will come, the flood waters will rise, and the winds howl. However, the principle of building a life on the foundation of godly living will help us last through the difficulties, struggles, and persecutions which will inevitably come.

2. Building on rock is a proactive process and conscious action. "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.” Building on rock does not merely consist of hearing Christ's words. We can go to church on Sunday and read the bible every single day while still building our lives on sandy soil. From Jesus' parable we come to a realization that building involves the conscious act of putting the teaching of Jesus into practice. First, we must take time to hear God's word through biblical study and sound biblical exposition. Our ears open and hearts soft. Second, we must diligently and patiently establish a routine of putting Christ's teaching into action. As we dedicate our lives to self-discipline, we are establishing a foundation which will carry us through the stormy times.

3. Our survival is based on the foundation of our homes and not necessarily on the quality of the building. The outcome of the foolish man's home and the wise man's home was dependent on the foundations they built on. There was no mention on the quality of their homes. This is not to say that if we build our lives on “biblical foundations,” we have the right to build crapily on rock. However, when we evaluate our lives, we have to remember that life boils down to the fundamentals. Are we living life with Christ in charge or are we the foreman of the construction site? When we – first and foremost – diligently establish a firm foundation in Christ, our house will endure despite our sometimes flawed and sub-par building skills. I mean, yeah, we fall short so many times, but God still carries us through. On the other hand, when we build the most extravagant mansion on sandy soil, there is bond to be a great collapse down the road. Sometimes we think we are safe with our quasi-religiosity until our lives begin to cave in. We excavate the wreckage and realize that our lives have been leaning on the tender twig of self-reliance rather than the sure rock of Christ.

Despite realizing God's care and protection in life's many trials, I still have the ominous feeling that something is going to collapse soon. I'm one to become very legalistic in my viewpoint, and lately, I've been very exhausted with “godly” living. I mean have you ever wondered what's the point? Sometimes following Christ seems like such a strain. Sometimes it's exhausting having an obligation – or feeling like you have an obligation – to go to church a few hours every Sunday, spending quiet time, having to reach out to non-believers with seemingly no significant results, and restraining from indulging in sinful behavior. Life is hard when you desire and try to live worthy of God's calling and fail so many times. Something is going to collapse. Some decide to abandon this “restrictive and confining” religion while others decide to fall into the embrace of Christ. At this point, when we are hanging on to the last rung of hope and strength in our lives, we must look onto the faithfulness of Christ. Reach for his hand and grasp onto the blessed assurance of a God who saves. God will remain faithful because He is faithful, not because we are. At this point, I'm going to keep fighting – no matter how many times I'm defeated – because God has never stopped fighting and caring for his chosen people. If you're going through a hard time: embrace God's grace, meditate on his Word, and fight the lies of Satan and this culture. Many times, life is not as bad as it seems when we view our calamities from a spiritual perspective. Peace.