Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV) “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.”
Notice that Jesus did not differentiate between those who believe His words and those who don’t. He is much more practical. The real division is between those who act on His words, who actually put them into practice and use them as the foundation of their lives, and those who don’t.
Those of us who both hear and act on Jesus’ words are the sensible people, which really does make sense, because Jesus’ words are the very words of God. We hear His words, we evaluate them, and then we begin to change their lives and actions to reflect what He has told us. This is no mere intellectual assent – it is allowing Jesus’ words to literally change our lives. Such people will have lives built on such a sturdy foundation that, no matter what challenges, storms, and trials life throws at us, our faith in God will stay strong and solid. And we will be able to persevere and gain the victory.
There were some listening to Jesus, however, nodding their heads and smiling their agreement, who would go from listening to Jesus back to life as it was before – no change of any significance. They might give intellectual assent to what He was saying, thinking that He was right on the money, but that’s as far as it went. Such people are building the foundation of their lives on the shifting sands of popular theology and personal opinion, rather than on God’s words which they heard clearly. When the challenges, storms, and trials of life come for these people, it can destroy their faith completely. Often they turn immediately to blaming God for the problems that they are facing, and find their whole faith torn to shreds.
The storms of life are inevitable in this world. And building the right foundation takes a lot of time and energy. Jesus’ teachings must be diligently studied, and the principles He espouses must be incorporated into the fabric of our lives. False teachings and ideas must be as ruthlessly removed as mildewed bricks from a contaminated home (cf. Leviticus 14:33-47), because they will weaken the whole faith structure of our lives.
As I stated above, all of this takes time, it takes energy, and it takes diligence. But the payoff is a solid foundation for our lives that will be able to stand strong, even in the face of the most powerful of life’s storms.
Father, it is clear that we can never hope to avoid all of the storms of life. But by both believing Jesus’ words and acting on them, we can solidify the foundation of our life so that the storms don’t damage our souls. Help us to both hear and obey all that Jesus says to us, His people. Amen.