Built on Rock or Sinking Sand?

If you’ve ever been to Vacation Bible School as a child I’m sure you remember the song “The Wise Man Built His House Upon A Rock”. The other day as I was standing at my kitchen sink doing dishes, that song from my childhood popped into my head. I began to sing it out loud. I won’t quote the whole song but the gist of it is that the wise man built his house upon a rock and when the rains came down and the floods came up, the house on the rock stood firm. The foolish man built his house upon the sand and when the rains came down and the floods came up, the house on the sand went SPLAT. 

In Luke chapter six Jesus had been up on the mountain teaching His crowd of disciples and a vast throng of people who had come to listen to Him and be cured of their diseases. He gives the Beatitudes, teaches about loving your enemies, judging and criticizing others and about fruit in people’s lives. Then in Luke 6:46 (NASB) He says, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?” 

Jesus goes on in the next few verses to describe the difference between the wise man and the foolish man. This wise man is the one who hears the Word of God and acts on what he hears. Jesus says this man is like someone who in building his house, dug deep and laid his foundation on the rock. Because he built his house on a solid foundation, when a flood occurred and the torrent burst against the house, it could not be shaken because it was well built. (See Luke 6:47,48)

James teaches us that if we merely hear the Word of God, but do not do what it says, we deceive ourselves by reasoning contrary to the Truth. (See James 1:22-25) This is like the foolish man who built his house without any foundation. He heard the Word but he didn’t act on it. This man’s house collapsed immediately when the flood came and the torrent burst against it. (See Luke 6:49)

It’s interesting to recognize that both the wise man and the foolish man were building a house. I can’t imagine anyone building a house knowing that if a storm came, the house would not be on a sturdy enough foundation to withstand the storm. We are foolish and deceived if we do not recognize that the only way we can build our lives to withstand the storms of life, is by obedience to the Word of God. We can read the Word of God all day long, listen to teaching tapes and read all the best Christian books that teach us the principles of the Word, but if we don’t do what we hear, we are on sinking sand and we will not be able to remain stable through the storms of life that are sure to come. 

Being obedient to the Word of God isn’t always easy. It will cost you something. It may not be easy to tell the truth when to tell a lie would seem easier. It may not be easy to submit to authority when you feel you are being treated unjustly. It may not be easy to love your enemies and to bless those who curse you, but we will be blessed when we submit to the Word of God as our final authority. Our house will be built on the sure foundation of the Word of God which will never fail.

May His peace be multiplied to you as you grow in the knowledge of Him. —Pam Frey