The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will
flourish. ~Proverbs 14:11
Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who builds 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 builds 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
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him or her; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. ~1 Corinthians 4:10-17
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for He grants sleep to those He loves. ~Psalm 127:1-2
Okay, let’s just pause for a moment to give you time to sing through the Sunday school song that I’m sure must be running through your mind at the moment! There was a time in our lives, when our kids were young, that our carpet seemed layered with Legos. All four of them were constantly building and creating. Legos are definitely intended for temporary structures. It always kind of surprised us when one of them would get upset at the destruction of their creation. Someone may have needed a part for their own creation, and the needed part showed up in someone else’s, which was then, at least modified, but admittedly, often destroyed, in the gathering.
Most Legos are sold in sets these days. Many of the parts are specialized for a certain theme, such as “Bionicals” or “Star Wars.” The thinking of the manufacturer may be kind of like the creators of model cars, where the instructions are followed, the creation is made and then put on display. But I feel that limits the development of imagination. Lego’s original point of create and recreate, redesign and improve upon was much healthier for kids. Structures made of Legos were not meant for display, but to be made, taken apart and made again.
It is very different from how God expects us to handle our real lives. He has given us a variety of materials, and we are certainly encouraged to use our creative imaginations. There is no specialized set of instructions that will force your life to be a cookie cutter copy of others. But there are clear instructions that help us build a life that is meant to last and be put on display to bring God glory.
We also have to be careful about the material we choose to use for building a life. In our Bible verses we have a contrast laid out for life, between quality construction with quality materials, built on a solid foundation, versus, a cheap imitation that may go up quickly, but comes down just as fast if not faster. An analogy to Paul’s message would be what happens if you try to use crackers and Cheese-its as Lego blocks! And an analogy to Jesus’ message would be trying to build a Lego model in a mud puddle.
The odd thing here is that, in the proverb for today, it is the wicked person who has the house! Yet the proverb says, that even the tent of the righteous person, is sturdier than what the wicked uses for building materials. It all comes down to what materials the house and the tent are made of. The test is in the trial.
Both Jesus and Paul talk about the trials that test our structures. Jesus addresses the foundation while Paul talks about the structure. Solomon talks about the heart. Jesus begins by talking about the foundation. Is the house built on the solid rock of His teaching and scripture, or on popular opinion, or maybe even just our own opinion? Opinions shift like sand. They are a dangerous surface to place hope for a meaningful life.
Have you heard about the homes along Lake Michigan that are facing the possibility of being washed away? Just like tides and shorelines, opinions change over time. What is popular today won’t be popular tomorrow. When the storms come, and notice, Jesus doesn’t say, “if,” He says “when the storms come,” popular opinion might end up being washed away along with the house itself.
Then there are the materials used for the actual structure. Paul addresses this when he compares our actions to either wood, hay and stubble, or costly silver and gold. The first materials, wood, hay and stubble, can certainly go up more quickly. Remember the first two pigs in the story of “The Three Little Pigs?” They wanted a house quick, with minimal effort. That story is a retelling of Jesus’ parable! Most people want life that way. Even some Christians want the quick fix, the easy believeism, without having to work hard.
Gold, silver and costly gems do require digging and hard work. At the end, the pile may be small and unimpressive, but then, the fire comes. Again, Paul also does not say, “if.” He says that what we build will be tested by fire. Which will last?
How do you even know which materials of life are the gold, silver and gems? The Psalmist says that it is the one that the Lord watches over that will last. You are building in vain if it does not have His approval! We can put these teachings all together sort of like this. The wicked person builds his house on modern thinking and popular opinion. He doesn’t want to work hard to know and understand. He wants a quick method that will work, so he thinks, so that he can get on with his life and not be bothered.
He lives for himself, using materials that are easy to come by and that shelter him quickly so he can have the hard part over with and get on with what he considers to be “living.” He may build a structure that looks imposing, but when the fire and storm come, what he has built will be shattered, leaving him dazed and confused with no understanding of “Why.”
The righteous person has taken the time to find a good rock for a solid foundation, Jesus! He endures the painstaking effort to find only the best quality materials to build his life and theology upon. He has built his life on solid principles that are sure and true. Outwardly, he may only have a tent, but what it is built on and what it is covering is priceless.
In addition, he understands what Paul says a little later when he says: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” (2 Cor. 5:1) He knows that the materials he has been collecting are for his eternal home, not his earthly one. He does not need to fear the fire or the storm because his security is in Christ’s solid teachings and his priority on eternal things. When the storm and fire come, he will remain intact because what he has built and what he has done were solid and unchangeable, not based on popular opinion, but on Truth.
It’s when the trials come, either by storm or fire, or disease, or poverty, that our foundations are tested. Then is revealed what we have truly believed upon and trusted in. We can give thanks for these trials, especially if they reveal just how shaky our foundations are and how superficial we are. The light of the Truth comes in and exposes our weaknesses. This gives us an opportunity to shift to a more solid foundation and structure.
When we have those solid foundations in place, we can give thanks that we know how to cling to the rock because we know who that rock is. There are so many people living on shaky foundations and in weak structures today. That is why there is so much fear and insecurity. And new opinions about why this happened and what to do about it are flying in all directions across the media. They don’t know where security is. The situation that we are in today may be giving us the opportunity of a lifetime to invite those folks to make the shift to the solid rock, and be securely anchored there, in Christ.
Prayer: Father thank, you for showing us the firm foundation that Is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our God, our brother. Jesus thank you for holding us tightly and securely so that with or firm footing we are secure enough to reach out and help others find you. Holy Spirit thank you for encouraging us and guiding us to find the rich treasures of Truth that are in the Word of God to give our lives direction and purpose. Put it all together in me and make me useful to you in helping other find you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: My Feet Are on The Rock (by I Am They)
Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who builds 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 builds 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
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him or her; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. ~1 Corinthians 4:10-17
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for He grants sleep to those He loves. ~Psalm 127:1-2
Okay, let’s just pause for a moment to give you time to sing through the Sunday school song that I’m sure must be running through your mind at the moment! There was a time in our lives, when our kids were young, that our carpet seemed layered with Legos. All four of them were constantly building and creating. Legos are definitely intended for temporary structures. It always kind of surprised us when one of them would get upset at the destruction of their creation. Someone may have needed a part for their own creation, and the needed part showed up in someone else’s, which was then, at least modified, but admittedly, often destroyed, in the gathering.
Most Legos are sold in sets these days. Many of the parts are specialized for a certain theme, such as “Bionicals” or “Star Wars.” The thinking of the manufacturer may be kind of like the creators of model cars, where the instructions are followed, the creation is made and then put on display. But I feel that limits the development of imagination. Lego’s original point of create and recreate, redesign and improve upon was much healthier for kids. Structures made of Legos were not meant for display, but to be made, taken apart and made again.
It is very different from how God expects us to handle our real lives. He has given us a variety of materials, and we are certainly encouraged to use our creative imaginations. There is no specialized set of instructions that will force your life to be a cookie cutter copy of others. But there are clear instructions that help us build a life that is meant to last and be put on display to bring God glory.
We also have to be careful about the material we choose to use for building a life. In our Bible verses we have a contrast laid out for life, between quality construction with quality materials, built on a solid foundation, versus, a cheap imitation that may go up quickly, but comes down just as fast if not faster. An analogy to Paul’s message would be what happens if you try to use crackers and Cheese-its as Lego blocks! And an analogy to Jesus’ message would be trying to build a Lego model in a mud puddle.
The odd thing here is that, in the proverb for today, it is the wicked person who has the house! Yet the proverb says, that even the tent of the righteous person, is sturdier than what the wicked uses for building materials. It all comes down to what materials the house and the tent are made of. The test is in the trial.
Both Jesus and Paul talk about the trials that test our structures. Jesus addresses the foundation while Paul talks about the structure. Solomon talks about the heart. Jesus begins by talking about the foundation. Is the house built on the solid rock of His teaching and scripture, or on popular opinion, or maybe even just our own opinion? Opinions shift like sand. They are a dangerous surface to place hope for a meaningful life.
Have you heard about the homes along Lake Michigan that are facing the possibility of being washed away? Just like tides and shorelines, opinions change over time. What is popular today won’t be popular tomorrow. When the storms come, and notice, Jesus doesn’t say, “if,” He says “when the storms come,” popular opinion might end up being washed away along with the house itself.
Then there are the materials used for the actual structure. Paul addresses this when he compares our actions to either wood, hay and stubble, or costly silver and gold. The first materials, wood, hay and stubble, can certainly go up more quickly. Remember the first two pigs in the story of “The Three Little Pigs?” They wanted a house quick, with minimal effort. That story is a retelling of Jesus’ parable! Most people want life that way. Even some Christians want the quick fix, the easy believeism, without having to work hard.
Gold, silver and costly gems do require digging and hard work. At the end, the pile may be small and unimpressive, but then, the fire comes. Again, Paul also does not say, “if.” He says that what we build will be tested by fire. Which will last?
How do you even know which materials of life are the gold, silver and gems? The Psalmist says that it is the one that the Lord watches over that will last. You are building in vain if it does not have His approval! We can put these teachings all together sort of like this. The wicked person builds his house on modern thinking and popular opinion. He doesn’t want to work hard to know and understand. He wants a quick method that will work, so he thinks, so that he can get on with his life and not be bothered.
He lives for himself, using materials that are easy to come by and that shelter him quickly so he can have the hard part over with and get on with what he considers to be “living.” He may build a structure that looks imposing, but when the fire and storm come, what he has built will be shattered, leaving him dazed and confused with no understanding of “Why.”
The righteous person has taken the time to find a good rock for a solid foundation, Jesus! He endures the painstaking effort to find only the best quality materials to build his life and theology upon. He has built his life on solid principles that are sure and true. Outwardly, he may only have a tent, but what it is built on and what it is covering is priceless.
In addition, he understands what Paul says a little later when he says: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” (2 Cor. 5:1) He knows that the materials he has been collecting are for his eternal home, not his earthly one. He does not need to fear the fire or the storm because his security is in Christ’s solid teachings and his priority on eternal things. When the storm and fire come, he will remain intact because what he has built and what he has done were solid and unchangeable, not based on popular opinion, but on Truth.
It’s when the trials come, either by storm or fire, or disease, or poverty, that our foundations are tested. Then is revealed what we have truly believed upon and trusted in. We can give thanks for these trials, especially if they reveal just how shaky our foundations are and how superficial we are. The light of the Truth comes in and exposes our weaknesses. This gives us an opportunity to shift to a more solid foundation and structure.
When we have those solid foundations in place, we can give thanks that we know how to cling to the rock because we know who that rock is. There are so many people living on shaky foundations and in weak structures today. That is why there is so much fear and insecurity. And new opinions about why this happened and what to do about it are flying in all directions across the media. They don’t know where security is. The situation that we are in today may be giving us the opportunity of a lifetime to invite those folks to make the shift to the solid rock, and be securely anchored there, in Christ.
Prayer: Father thank, you for showing us the firm foundation that Is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our God, our brother. Jesus thank you for holding us tightly and securely so that with or firm footing we are secure enough to reach out and help others find you. Holy Spirit thank you for encouraging us and guiding us to find the rich treasures of Truth that are in the Word of God to give our lives direction and purpose. Put it all together in me and make me useful to you in helping other find you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: My Feet Are on The Rock (by I Am They)
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