"Knowing the correct password, saying
'Master, Master,' for instance, isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What
is required is serious obedience, doing what my Father wills."These words
I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner
improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to
build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart
carpenter who built his house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, the river
flooded, a tornado hit, but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26" But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into
your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy
beach. 27 When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a
house of cards."
Food for thought!
Jesus was in a double sense an expert. He was an expert in scripture. He is referring to Proverbs 10:25. "When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established for ever" (Prov.10:25). But Jesus was also an expert in life. He was the craftsman who knew all about the building of houses, and when he spoke about the foundations of a house he knew what he was talking about.
There are two great permanent truths within this passage. There is only one way in which a man's sincerity can be proved, and that is by his practice. Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. So often we confess God with our lips and deny him with our lives. It is not difficult to recite a creed, to say prayers, even to go to church or to Bible study meetings. What we need to do is translate words into works.
So as we go to church, go to Mass, kneel down to pray, as we read the Bible, we should remember that it is not enough; it is just the beginning. The second part is to act as the Lord has told us in the prayer. For instance, if and when we pray for rain, we should take our umbrella with us.
Knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action. Many of us would perfectly pass an examination in Christian Ethics with the highest distinction, and yet fail in action. Knowledge must become action; theory must become practice; theology must become life.
There is little point in going to a doctor, unless we are prepared to do the things we hear him say to us. There is little point in going to an expert, unless we are prepared to act upon his advice. There's little point in going to church, in praying, in reading the Bible, unless we do experiment on what the Lord tells us. The problem with some of us is that we distrust what we hear the Lord tell us to do. Mary's advice at the wedding at Cana is very pertinent: "Whatever he tells you, do it." (Jn 2:5).
Food for thought!
Jesus was in a double sense an expert. He was an expert in scripture. He is referring to Proverbs 10:25. "When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established for ever" (Prov.10:25). But Jesus was also an expert in life. He was the craftsman who knew all about the building of houses, and when he spoke about the foundations of a house he knew what he was talking about.
There are two great permanent truths within this passage. There is only one way in which a man's sincerity can be proved, and that is by his practice. Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. So often we confess God with our lips and deny him with our lives. It is not difficult to recite a creed, to say prayers, even to go to church or to Bible study meetings. What we need to do is translate words into works.
So as we go to church, go to Mass, kneel down to pray, as we read the Bible, we should remember that it is not enough; it is just the beginning. The second part is to act as the Lord has told us in the prayer. For instance, if and when we pray for rain, we should take our umbrella with us.
Knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action. Many of us would perfectly pass an examination in Christian Ethics with the highest distinction, and yet fail in action. Knowledge must become action; theory must become practice; theology must become life.
There is little point in going to a doctor, unless we are prepared to do the things we hear him say to us. There is little point in going to an expert, unless we are prepared to act upon his advice. There's little point in going to church, in praying, in reading the Bible, unless we do experiment on what the Lord tells us. The problem with some of us is that we distrust what we hear the Lord tell us to do. Mary's advice at the wedding at Cana is very pertinent: "Whatever he tells you, do it." (Jn 2:5).
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