24 “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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Over Christmas it was 17 degrees below zero and the wind was howling. I was sitting next to my warm fireplace…toasty warm…thankful my home was fulfilling its responsibility to keep me safe. You know it doesn’t happen without effort. Like most of you, every spring I take a look at the structure to see how it’s holding up. A new roof, caulking windows, extra insulation in the attic…there is always a list of needs.
We’re not always as diligent with our personal lives…
We’d prefer to say the Sermon on the Mount is just rhetoric…unattainable standards that are nothing more than aspirations. If we were to say this, we would be wrong. There are severe consequences to ignoring the words of Jesus.
Jesus says if we acknowledge these Divine standards but don’t follow them, our lives will crumble. On the other hand, if we put these standards into practice our lives will withstand all the onslaughts the world can mount against us.
And, what were those words?
Our lives begin to crumble when we focus on instant gratification rather than on heavenly rewards. Our lives begin to crumble when we take matters into our own hands because we don’t trust God to direct us. Our lives begin to crumble when we fail to love the other more than we love ourselves. Our lives begin to crumble when we get busy judging others rather than living authentically. Our lives begin to crumble when we stray from God’s design. Our lives begin to crumble when we take the advice of ungodly people.
Not too complicated…yet, I wonder why we have such difficulty “connecting the dots”. As people of faith we often see our lives deteriorating before our eyes and wonder why.
Don’t equate crumbling with trouble. Trouble is common to all mankind. Rain and floods are the perfect metaphor for trouble. It’s the nature of life. When the rains of trouble are buffeting your life…how warm and safe is it inside? The question is…can you feel your foundation slipping, or is it solid?
Jesus had it about right, I suspect. Let the Sermon on the Mount be your checklist for weatherproofing your life.
Live boldly out there today…
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