Matthew 7:24
“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.
25 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.
26 “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.
27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Build on the Rock
Rock, not sand, he said. See that gorgeous little flat sandy valley? It looks great, it’s easy going, and you’ll be finished in no time. Don’t build there! That stunning little valley is a disaster when it rains in the hills. Build on the higher ground, on the rock. It’s harder and it takes longer, but it will last.
Today there’s an endless range of seductive choices about where to ‘build’ your life – secluded little courts of security and affluence; busy boulevards of power, influence, career and money; country retreats for ‘back to nature’, healthy living or just dropping out. You can even go religious – there’s a hundred ways to inner peace – whichever suits you best.
Some of them work for a while – for the lucky ones at least. Promotion and success, a circle of friends, wealth, health, and lots of dining out. But tough times come – illness, family breakdown, retrenchment – a thousand different ways. What then?
We need a foundation for our lives that will survive the hard times, the long haul. But there are no short cuts. You do have to know what you’re doing. Jesus said you have to do two things – ‘listen to me and follow what I say’.
Tom Slater, a trained primary teacher, has been a leader in the Christian Camping movement, Scripture Union and Australian Evangelical Alliance.