“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” - Jesus (Matthew 7:24-27)
Jesus finishes His sermon with a VBS song. I am sure all of us have at one time or another participated in this song and the hand motions that accompany it. From a young age, we learn the importance of building on solid ground. As an engineer, these words have an even clearer meaning for me.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has given the basis for His ministry and the foundation for all the other teaching that is contained in the New Testament. His teaching in these three chapters is the Magna Carta, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the Christian faith. When He finishes teaching, He gives the people the choice of accepting or rejecting His words and tells them outcome of their choice. Wise will stand, foolish will fall. Wise listen and put into action, foolish ignores and rejects. But the choice was theirs and it is ours.
He says to us that our lives are not going to be without trouble. The floods will come, the winds will blow, our houses will take a beating and the choice we make for our foundation will determine the outcome of the troubles. If we base our lives on the truth that is found in Him... bring on the rain. If we reject His truth and base our lives on something else... trouble will devastate. You have seen it. I have too. People that haven't built their lives on the Solid Rock of Jesus fold under the load of this life. People whose lives are built on Him standing strong against the winds of cancer or the rain of job lose.
But His message goes further than this life only! He is calling us to faith that leads to a life hereafter. Sure we are going to have a better life here... and that is worth living for! But Paul tells the church in Corinth, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. Jesus has better things planned of us now and eternally. The question for each of us is clear, are we wise or foolish? We will listen and do or will we ignore and fall? Just as in every other scripture, He leaves the choice to us. So...
Wise or Foolish?
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