Monday Meditations: The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock

Yesterday our pastor taught another sermon in his series The Crux. It’s been a great set of thought-provoking sermons as we lead up to the moment in time when the Cross transformed from a sign of contempt and justice to one of grace and mercy. (You can watch the great trailer here)

Yesterday Pastor Ted talked about the two houses at the conclusion of Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 7. Now does anyone else groan a bit? Think you’ve thought about every piece of that story? I’ll admit, I stifled a groan. What’s there to know about a story I’ve known since I could sing the song in Sunday School? Sing it with me, “The wise man built his house upon the rock…”

But this time, Pastor Ted pulled out an aspect I don’t remember considering before. He talked about how both builders had heard the Gospel. They both knew the truth. But one built on the sure foundation, the rock of Christ. The other built with the same materials, but on a poor foundation.

That made me stop. And think. And roll the idea over in my mind a couple times. How many times do I hear the truth and misapply it? Or do nothing with it? I can hear the world’s best sermons. I can be sensitive to the Holy Spirit whispering in my ear. I can determine to do everything I can…but if I don’t actually build my life on a sure foundation, at the first whisper of a storm, my foundation will crack. No matter how beautiful my life, without a solid foundation, it is all vulnerable to destruction.

This from the Message really drives it home:

^24-25“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

^26-27“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

Man, I’m going to be thinking about this for awhile.

How about you? What well-loved scripture has God recently breathed fresh life into for you?