Matthew 7:24-27 24So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. 25And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand. 27And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell–and great and complete was the fall of it.
One place that I had always wanted to visit was the Maldive Islands. These islands sit right on the equator and are only 6 feet above sea level at their highest point. I met someone who lived there and they were showing me pictures of this beautiful place. One thing that struck me was a picture of a resort, where all of the rooms were actually little cottages in the ocean up on thin wooden stilts. I asked the native how it was possible for those rooms to remain like that. I asked what happened if there was a storm, or waves, or rough seas. They assured me that since the islands were on the equator, the water was calm and there weren’t really any waves. They said they didn’t have a problem with storms. I thought of this a few years ago when I heard a tsunami had come through the Maldive Islands and destroyed a lot of it. The residents there never anticipated any kind of disturbance in their tropical paradise, so they weren’t prepared for it when it happened. Jesus said the man who hears His words, but doesn’t do them is like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Perhaps like the people in the Maldive Islands, he never anticipates that he will have to face any kind of opposition or storm of life. When the storms show up, he is destroyed because he is not equipped to handle it. He falls because he does not have a firm foundation.
On the other hand, Jesus says the man who hears His words and obeys them is like a man who built his house on a rock. When the rain and wind came it didn’t fall because the foundation was strong. Living in Florida, I see this every time I drive by the beach. There are beautiful houses right on the ocean. The residents aren’t worried about the thunderstorms, or even the hurricanes that might come. They know that their houses not only have a great foundation, but are designed to withstand winds greater than 150 mph. The walls are reinforced, the doors are extra strong and not only are the windows specially made to hold up in the storm, but they have hurricane shutters that cover them giving an extra barrier of protection. The builders of these houses anticipated the greatest storms imaginable and created a house that would be able to stand in even the strongest winds. When we base our lives on being obedient to the Word of God, we are preparing ourselves to stand no matter what happens in our lives. Psalm 62:2 says 2He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved. When our lives are built on Him, even if the circumstances of life show up to try to get us off track, we are like that tree in Psalm 1:3 that is planted by streams of living water. Our roots will run deep, our foundation will be sure and we will not be moved.
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