“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27.
Tragic headlines have shown us the degree to which location affects the very existence of house or other form of building. The 545-foot-tall Millennium Tower in San Francisco is tilting 29 inches due to the soil conditions of its location. Houses along some parts of the California coast have fallen to the beach. Fires consume unlucky houses and businesses in Hawaii, New Mexico, California, and other places.
In Jesus’ parable of the builders in Matthew 7, he was not commenting on modern building techniques or locations, but rather on a general principle of how one builds a life. Both buildings and human lives have this in common. It tends to be true that the foundation material that you use for building lives or structures will affect the survivability of that building.
Jesus concluded his 3-chapter sermon in Matthew 5-7 with this statement. “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” Matthew 7:24. In saying that, Jesus distinguished his teachings from all other, supposed, teachers to whom they might listen. You can almost hear Jesus saying, “Be careful to whom you listen.”
Preparation includes being ready for what the day brings but also in selecting strong foundation materials for constructing a house, a life, and choosing what to believe. Jesus’ teaching had a rock-solid character to it, worthy of trusting it to be sturdy. The Psalmist, realizing this, said, “I have hidden your word in my heart…” Psalm 119:11.
Prayer: O God, there are weak and false foundation materials all around. Please help us to be discerning and wise as we build for the future when you are coming back. In Jesus’ name. Amen.