Build on Rock

“I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.” Luke 6:47-48

Jesus wasn’t an architect but He tells us how important it is to build a house on a strong foundation. If a building is constructed on unstable soil or precarious slopes, an earthquake’s motion of side to side, and up and down will quickly turn the soil into a bowl of jello. This is what happened in Mexico City’s earthquake in 1985, resulting in damage worth 4 billion dollars. 

If the land you have has soft soil, you have to make sure that the foundation reaches deep into the bedrock, anchoring the building’s piers as rigidly as possible, so that it will be able to withstand shock waves. 

Out of an estimated 2 million earthquakes a year around the world, only a quarter of those are detectable, but only 100 each year causes damage. We are blessed if we have a home that can withstand the force of an earthquake. 

Jesus spoke of flood damage to homes not built on rock, but perhaps built on natural flood plains of rivers. When storms come, homes and buildings get damaged if they are not built well. 

How about our families and our own lives? Are we building on solid ground? Either Charles Reade or Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” It takes a lifetime to grow our character and it starts from a good solid foundation. The best foundation is a person, Jesus Christ, who is the perfecter of our faith, (Hebrews 12:2), and a sure foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11).