“Therefore whosoever heareth these these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27
“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:47-49
My Summary & Reflection
In this parable, Jesus is comparing his observant followers to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. Even in the midst of a devastating storm, the house remained solid and secure because of its strong foundation. However, those who have heard the teachings of Jesus and neglected to follow through on them, are compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. When the storms came, the house fell because of the weakness of its foundation. So, Jesus is comparing his teachings to a rock upon which someone can build.
Jesus appears to be telling us to attach our foundation to his teachings. It is upon these teachings, you can start to build. I equate it to learning to read. If you’re going to learn to read, you first need to know the alphabet. It is upon the alphabet that the foundation for reading is built. Similarly, the foundation of the Christian faith can only be built on the teachings of Jesus. And as in the parable, when the ideology of a person or a faith community is founded on anything else, then when tested by the harshest storms, that person or community will be swept aside.
Another point is that his teachings form the foundation for action, not inaction. He says, that whoever hears my teachings and does them. That means that Jesus’ teachings form a foundation for you to act, to do, or to follow through on the guidance that he provides. It’s not enough to hear and to agree, we must also have actions that align with his teachings in order to build a strong foundation.
It occurs to me that the soundness of a foundation is only revealed during the harshest times. When days are sunny or times are good, a beautiful facade can hide the imperfections of structure. But when the storms come or times are difficult, then the true strength of a building, a family, a church, a relationship is revealed. Those that are built on a solid foundation can weather the storm, those that are not are swept away. As the gospel songwriter Edward Mote said, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.”
Your Reflection
- Upon what is your foundation built? What of that of your marriage, your children, your church?
- Does hearing the teachings of Jesus get you to reorder your life? How?