Building Your House on the Rock
“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.” Matthew 7:24-27
What are you building your house on? Not your literal house, but the house of your heart.
In Jesus’ time, those who lived in the desert knew that doing the hard work of climbing up a rocky hill to build their house rather than settling in the smooth lower ground would be better for them in the long run. While the smooth, sandy ground was flat (exactly what you’d hope for when building), when the winter rains came, huge sweeping rivers would come up from seemingly nowhere and tear down anything on the lower ground. Those who were “foolish” and built their house on the sand would see everything they trusted in (and maybe even themselves) washed away.
The same is true for our spiritual lives. It’s so easy to try and build our house on whatever earthly things seem to promise security (i.e., wealth, education, looks, relationships), but when life happens, these things aren’t strong enough to hold us up and keep us safe. Only Jesus is our firm foundation.
When we stake our lives on Him and His Word, we are like the man who built his house on the rock. While our money or looks or strength will fail us at some point, Jesus’s love and kindness are always with us. He promises that He will never leave us, He never lets us go (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5).
None of us are immune to the storms of life, but when we are rooted in Christ, we are able to stand firm through our struggles. Every time we read the Word or draw close to God in prayer, we are adding another metaphorical brick to the house of our hearts, strengthening our foundation on our Rock.
So I ask again, what are you building your house on these days? Is it Christ or something else? What can you do today to turn more towards Christ, your firm foundation?
As commentator Matthew Henry writes, “May the Lord make us wise builders for eternity. Then nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ Jesus.“