Building Codes
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And 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. And 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. And 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
My wife used to work for the NC geological survey and every year her office got called out to look at homes after periods of heavy rains. Usually, a house had been built improperly and when the heavy rain came, the house began to slide down the hill because it had not been anchored to the bedrock below.
Folks who build houses know that building codes exist for a reason. They are given to help avoid past disasters from happening again. They are given to help builders construct strong homes for the folks who will live in them. Ignoring building codes puts a lot of people at risk and to ignore them is foolish.
This passage is unique because it comes at the very end of a famous sermon Jesus gave called the Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus described the nature of the Kingdom of God and the characteristics of Christians living in the world around them.
Here, Jesus tells us to anchor our lives to the bedrock of God’s Word to avoid being swept away by the floods of life. Think of God’s Word like building codes for your life. If you listen to them and follow them, your life will be strong and sturdy. If you ignore them and build your life on the sand of your own plans, when trials come your spiritual house will be shaky.
What are you building your life on?