Building your house on The Rock
By Cory Paskins
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 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. 26 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. 27 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 (ESV)
The most important part in building any home is the building of its foundation. You could build yourself a million dollar home with the most beautiful layout and design, but if that home has no foundation it will always fall. Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian life. He is known as the Chief Cornerstone and the Rock that we, the children of God, build our house on. (Ephesians 2:20) (1 Corinthians 3:11) The house that we are building represents our life and our soul, for we believe that our body is the temple of God, and that His Spirit dwells within our midst.(1Corinthians 3:16)
Building the Foundation
Jesus gives us two different foundations to choose from in Matthew 7:24-27, one that is made of rock and the other that's made of sand. The obvious material to choose is the rock of course, but how do we do that? There comes a point in life where we have to ask ourselves, are we going to build our house on our own works, or are we going to build our house on the completed works of Jesus Christ? When we choose to build our lives on our own works rather than the works of Jesus, we are choosing to build our lives on shifting sand rather than on solid rock. When we come to Jesus and confess that He is Lord, and truly believe in our hearts that He is the Son of God, He will save us.(Romans 10:9) The very moment that we are saved by the grace of God, is the very moment that Jesus becomes the firm foundation in our life.
Building the House
Lets say you do have your foundation established in Jesus Christ, now what does it look like to build your house on that foundation? Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27, “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 “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.” The Christian life isn’t just about hearing and believing in the words of Jesus, but its also about being obedient and doing what Jesus told us to do. When we do what Jesus commands us to do, we are allowing Him to be the Master Designer and Master Planner of our house. It's not always easy building the house that God instructs us to build, Jesus even warns us in Matthew 7:24-27 about the rain, floods and wind that will try and beat us down. However, during these seasons we can always rely on Jesus to help us through the storms, and give us the strength to continue our build.
If you have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ as the foundation of your life I would venture to ask you, what foundation are you building your life on now? Is it on money, friends, family, successes, or is it something else? What ever it might be, I would invite and encourage you to allow Jesus Christ to be the solid foundation in your life. Through the Holy Spirit we are given the strength and power build our house on the foundation of Jesus, and we are able to decorate the walls of our house with His fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
