“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
— Matthew 7:24-25
I have never built a house. Well, I take that back, I did build a life-size playhouse for my girls in our backyard when they were little. I was so proud of that house that I built from scratch (without plans by the way), until a wind storm came along and pushed it over on its side and flattened it. Little did I know then that in order to build a house that would last (even a playhouse) it must be built on a solid foundation.
No one is born a Christian. We may have had wonderful Christian parents, attended a great church and been part of a youth group, but we didn’t become true believers in Jesus Christ until we personally repented of our sins and asked Him to come into our hearts and be the Savior and Lord of our lives. Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:3, 6). In that process, from birth to new birth and beyond—God began the building process by levelling out our rough spots, scraping away those tough exteriors, plowing up our rebellious spirits and removing those giant boulders of resistance from our hearts so he could lay a foundation and build something really beautiful. The apostle Peter calls it “a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4-5); the apostle Paul, “a temple, a holy temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16)—and God spares no cost to build it!
The foundation of our spiritual house, of course, is Jesus Christ. He is the architect and the contractor. All of the measurements start with him. He is the focus of our new structure which the Bible calls, “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He doesn’t repair or remodel the old one, He builds a brand new one. He is the one who gives us direction, stability and our uniqueness—and when he is through, our building will look like no other and it will last for all eternity. Now that’s a long time!
My little girls initially put their trust in me when I built their playhouse because they thought I knew what I was doing. Well, I’m sure I disappointed them but this one thing I know about building a spiritual house—when it’s built on the right foundation it can never be blown over, no matter how hard the winds are because Jesus Christ is the builder, and he knows what he’s doing (Matthew 7:24-27). Maranatha!
To help us walk closer with God and to know Him better
