Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24, ESV)
We’ve all experienced it—every one of us. And for most of us, we dread it. It brings out the worst in us.
A wet, rain-soaked golf course.
Golf carts are on the path. Lots of walking and it’s next to impossible to find a good lie. It’s like trying to hit a shot out of a cereal bowl of Shredded Wheat.
The greatest challenge is remaining stable and balanced during your swing. Slipping and sliding around is expected unless you are playing a golf course with SubAir Systems in place, like they do at Augusta National Golf Club.
According to their website, SubAir Systems provides aeration, moisture removal, and root zone temperature control to create an optimal subsurface growing environment. If it rains in Augusta, the club can control how wet the golf course is, providing competitors with optimal playing conditions.
But, for the majority of us, a wet, sloppy golf course awaits.
Just as a stable foundation is essential for the golf swing, a solid, sure, and steadfast foundation is essential for living life this side of eternity.
In Matthew 7, Jesus concludes His well-known sermon, which, in essence, is a lesson on how His followers should live their lives. As He overlooks the Sea of Galilee, He offers three distinct contrasts, stressing we can choose or reject God’s ways.
The third of those contrasts is between wisely building a house on a rock (v.24) and foolishly building it on shifting sand (v.26). The sands on the shore of Galilee would be crusty and firm on top but soft and unsettled underneath. No wise builder would ever attempt to construct any structure on sand.
This metaphor was easily understood by His listeners. They grasped how wisdom and foolishness are different. Jesus explains that when life becomes hard, difficult, and tumultuous, a life built on the rock will withstand the onslaught.
But a life built outside of God’s ways is destined for destruction and devastation. The Bible emphatically teaches that Jesus is the rock (see 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 62:2; Isaiah 26:4; 1 Peter 2:6)!
As he offers these contrasts, the core difference between the wise and the foolish is that the wise hear the word of the Lord and do as He says. The fool does not. It’s that simple.
As followers of Christ, we are expected to be doers of His word, not just hearers (James 1:22). To be a hearer of the word only is to live in a house with a sandy foundation. The storms will certainly come, and our house will not survive.
The text begs the question: Are you hearing and obeying the Word of God, or are you rejecting and disobeying Him (v.24, 26)? Make no mistake: if you build your life on anything other than the Lord God Almighty, great will be your fall (v.27).
Let’s diligently live our lives on the solid foundation of knowing and following Jesus.
Father! May I live my life firmly planted in your word, resolved to honor you through my obedience to your ways. Amen