Built on Solid Rock

 

“If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.” Luke 6:48-49 MSG

With all the parables of Jesus, we need to pay special attention to when Jesus tells them. In this case, this is the last thing He says in The Sermon on the Mount. He has just taught some of the most profound thing ever spoken so when he says “these words of mine” in the parable, He’s referring what He just preached.

The man who hears the Sermon on the Mount and actually practices living the way Jesus taught is like a man who builds His house on rock. Trouble comes, but the house stands. However, someone who hears Jesus’ teaching but doesn’t apply it is like a fool with a house on sand. Trouble comes and his life will collapse.

The difference is that the wise man does what Jesus says and the foolish man doesn’t. It all comes down to that. Wisdom is the decision to allow these words to permeate our hearts and then change our behavior. A good way to figure out which builder you are is to ask yourself, “When was the last time a verse, a sermon, a prayer, impacted your heart so much that it made me change my behavior?”

We don’t believe that our works are what save us, but we also don’t believe that a genuine walk with God can leave our works unaffected. If something is transforming your heart, it’ll transform your behavior. Faith without works is dead. The truest display of our faith is to let it translate into the way we live. This builds our lives on the rock solid foundation of God’s Word and allows us to stand strong during the storms that come.