“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27
The parable of the man who built his house on a rock tells us that following Jesus will be difficult; we can be confident that we can know what “the rock” is and that Jesus will make our work and a peaceful life possible. We know that committing our lives to Christ is just the beginning of our journey — while salvation is complete and good in itself, the rest of our lives need to be devoted to spiritual growth. We know we are able to obey His teaching, but the Bible isn’t a technical manual and there are no black and white dictates. We don’t get the kind of point by point instructions that Google provides. Jesus promises to be with us, he gives us a “map”: the Sermon on the Mount, and tools.
The key to building life on a rock is knowing Jesus. We just had baptism Sunday, and it was thrilling to be part of of that service. I felt so much joy for each one of the individuals being baptized and for our congregation who was coming along beside each one and cheering them on. I remembered the joy and peace I experienced when I acknowledged I couldn’t save myself and first experienced God’s love fully. Our spiritual walk doesn’t stop with salvation, but that relationship and joy, it’s what I have held on to. God met me in the lowest point of my life and that made me realize He would always be there for me. Knowing Jesus gives us the desire and encouragement to build our house on a rock.
Jesus also gives us a vision and tools. The vision is the Sermon on the Mount, an outline of what it means to be a citizen in God’s kingdom. The tools we have are the Scriptures, Holy Spirit, spiritual disciplines, and knowing other believers.
Building our lives on a rock is a challenge — not a dreary slog to the end point, but a journey that’s more exhilarating, painful, joyful, difficult and peaceful than we could have ever imagined when we began. When we put our confidence in Jesus, our rock and foundation, we can experience life in its fullness, and have confidence in the promise of eternal life with Him.
by Sherry Sommer
