Matthew 7:21-29
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men! ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’ Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes.
Food for thought!
Jesus has been teaching us since Mt. 5:1 (When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them). Today, as Jesus concludes his sermon (Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say), the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard a teaching like this. This was the best teaching they had ever heard. The people applauded Jesus because, though many of his teaching was hard, no one is like him and no teaching is like of Jesus. He is a divine teacher; he deserves all our listening.
And Jesus knows how important are his words, that's why he says that the words he speaks to us are not incidental additions to our life, homeowner improvements to our 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. But if you just use his 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.
Let's look at the two houses, two lives, two kinds of Christians. Each house was subjected to the same kinds of abuse. A storm came. Rains fell, winds blew and savage floods wrapped themselves around these houses. One house fell in the storm, but when the storm was over, one house was still standing, the other was not.
The two houses were built by two men. These men were pretty much alike. They both wanted houses and they both built them. Both watched as the house they had built was attacked by the same vicious storm. One watched in horror as the house he had built succumbed to the storm and fell in the raging flood waters. The other watched in satisfaction as his house stood firm in the storm. Jesus looked at these men and proclaimed one a fool, but the other he called wise or smart.
We are one of these men; we are either one or the other. Each one of us and all of us are builders of our own lives. Your life is like a house. It looks pretty much like all the other houses around it. It is made from the same materials. It is also attacked by the very same storms. Storms of economy, storms of sickness, storms of sin, storms of temptation and storms of problems. But as the two houses some houses, some people, do survive quite easily the challenges of life while others do not. What makes the difference? It is the Word of God. Jesus is teaching us that if our life is built upon anything that is not Jesus' word, WE'RE IN TROUBLE! There is nothing in all creation that can bring us victory in whatever it is we are facing than putting our faith in the Word of God. We must learn to run to God’s Word when we are in the midst of a crisis or attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment