Two Houses

“”Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ (ESV)

This passage comes from the end of Jesus’ most famous sermon, usually called The Sermon on the Mount. It is the application point of the sermon. He’s giving the crowd a choice to make. The choice every follower of Jesus makes. How will you follow Him? Will you be wise or will you be foolish? Will you build on the rock or the sand?

I don’t know how many of you have experience with building things. Construction in Jesus’ time was much closer to the average person’s daily life. Most people were probably familiar with the way their simple home’s were put together. Many of his hearers in their lifetimes probably saw a house fall because of where it was built. Rain will wash away the wrong kind of foundation. Wind can knock down an improperly put together wall.

Jesus, in His great love for us, gave us this wisdom. If you want your house to stand you need to build it on a firm foundation. Now, even though Jesus was a carpenter, his primary concern wasn’t construction. Jesus was about building lives. He wanted lives built on the truth. On God’s Truth. As people took the teachings of Jesus and the Bible that they had at the time, their lives would stand strong.

Jesus is referring to life. Eternal life, a portion of which is lived on this earth, but most of which is in the life to come. We’re all here on this earth for a limited time, and during that time we’re building a life. The wisdom of Jesus is to indicate to people that there is a wise way and a foolish way to build.

Both of the men in the story are building something. They are giving their lives to a purpose, establishing a structure with their lives. The house they are building has elements to it. It has things which hold it together. It has connections. Friendships and family. Meaning and purpose. Every day given to adding something else to the house we’re building. Like we are adding bricks to our house with every decision we make.

Life is a series of decisions and we build our house based on these decisions. Will I give my life to light or darkness? Will I choose life or death?

If only all decisions were that clear. Think back over the course of the last week. As you watch the replay film, are there decisions you regret? Did you have any moments where you where you did something and immediately you felt in your spirit that you’d violated God’s teaching or stepped outside of God’s path? Maybe it was a moment of intense emotion and you didn’t think about it at all, but the end result was you lashing out with your tongue or actions in a way that did not glorify God.

As we walk through this life, we are to become something new. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, as it says in Romans. We are becoming like Christ. That is the calling of a believer. That is the house we’re to build. The only hope of it standing is if it is built on a relationship with Jesus. It is only in Christ that we can build anything that will stand.

One doesn’t become “like Christ” overnight, but over a lifetime of making the right decisions we all can become more like Him. Day by day, moment by moment, we are building a strong house.

There is a trend going around online that talks about life hacks. Things you might not have thought about before that make your life easier or better. The videos you see online might be for practical things like doing laundry or studying more effectively.

When Jesus talks about these two men building their houses, he is giving a picture of one man putting his efforts to good use and the other who is essentially wasting his life. One of them will work hard over the course of their life, only to find it wiped out when the trials come. The other is building something that will last.

The Bible is the ultimate life hack. Jesus’ teaching is a true path to a better life. This is the real blessing of Scripture. It is not a guarantee or wealth or success, but it is a promise of a life lived in accordance with the world God designed. We can live this life with Him.

We can build our life around the promises of God. We worship Him. We don’t live our life for selfish ends. We come together to encourage and love one another. We get married and build a strong marriage where the husband loves his wife sacrificially and the wife lovingly gives herself to her husband.

We’ll have kids and raise them up in this way of life. We’ll teach them of God’s love and truth and that we are created for His purposes. We’ll tell everyone we meet of the Way, as Jesus’ earliest followers referred to it.

A Way that leads to life, life everlasting through the belief in God’s Son and His sacrifice for our sins. This is the house that is built on God’s Foundation. It is a house that stands when the wind and the rain comes. This house will not fall. It experiences the blessings of a life lived with Him. It holds together with others who walk side by side as a part of the family of God. We live and walk by faith together, forgiven and free. We are sinners, but no longer under the condemnation of a system of works. We follow God out of our freedom, not out of our bondage.

This is the better way. This is the life every young believer should want for themselves, for their family and for their friends. When you look ahead and dream about the future, picture that house built on the solid rock. Imagine the joy of a life lived in faith with Him. A life without regrets. A life where you look back on your past decisions and you praise God for His faithfulness in allowing you to experience the joy of His salvation.

All of you should want this. In a world where we have trouble, just as we are promised, there is a clear path through the trouble. It is not of our own creation, but is paved by the hand of the Father.

Open up your Bibles to Matthew 5–7 today and read the Sermon on the Mount in its entirety and read and understand the great love that God has for you in giving you a better way to live. After salvation, it is His greatest gift to you and me.

Originally published at http://seeinggodclearly.com on February 15, 2024.