“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” Matthew 7:24
What is a foundation for building a house, but that material and structure, is resistant to rain, floods, and wind, proving itself to be the most suitable for building upon it? The quality, placement, and essence of that foundation is the first great consideration to building a house, or some other structure. The weight, and structure of the house built upon it, along with its attachment to the solid foundation, will determine if the house, will be able to withstand the elements of nature that will hurl themselves against it. In the economy of God, that which is important is not only what occurs in the building of the house, and upon which foundation, but primarily the overcoming quality of that house to remain in tact in the storm. With regard to the personal application of this illustration, the foundation that one chooses will be either that of sand or rock, the first being the ideas and means of men, which will fail to provide for the eternal security, and blessing of one’s life. The second, the rock, is that certain material and structure, conceived and provided by God, so that if a man have faith, and chooses to wholeheartedly build his house upon, and according to, Jesus Christ, he will find that the Eternal Spirit is that strength within him in Christ, which enables him to face the storms of life, and the pressures against living for the glory of God. Because of the foundation of God in Christ, all is provided for the believer to overcome the storms of life and remain steadfastly attached to the Rock. How important then is this foundation of God?
In Psalm 11:3, we find where the David writes: “If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” He goes on to say, “The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men.” (v.4) David understood in his day the necessity of a right foundation, one that was of God. He would instruct his son, Solomon, to build the first temple in Jerusalem, and in those preparations, not only were the instructions very clear concerning how that foundation was to be laid, but the materials chosen would be the perfect ones so that the temple would resist the pressures of time upon it. This was a physical temple, beautiful and magnificent beyond measure, but because it was made of the materials of this world, it too would eventually crumble. However, the significance of the temple, and what it represented, and the blessing associated with it, lives on to this very day. Why? Because of the spiritual meaning and message of the structure. The spiritual foundation of that temple was Christ. Christ is also the foundation of another “house.” It is that which represents the life of every believer on earth. How so?
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (3:11) What is Paul saying here? He is making it quite clear that Christ IS God’s foundation. The individual believer who, by the grace of God, aligns himself with Christ, who is also the cornerstone, is that one who has begun to not only understand what building upon the true foundation means, but has begun the race, the journey, until the crown is won, to actually build upon it. This individual has seen that the whole weight of the structure is to be built upon this foundation, resting entirely upon this unchanging, Almighty foundation. Will the believer build a perfect structure upon it? No, but increasingly, he will learn to build with gold and silver, and precious stones, as opposed to wood, hay, and stubble. In that day, when every man’s work will be judged by fire, the proof of Christ’s overcoming life in him will be fully revealed.
Dear Father, Enable us to build. In Jesus’ name, Amen.