 By James H. Cagle |
“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: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded on a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7: 24-27 KJV).
Building codes are rules or instructions for designing and constructing buildings to assure the safety of the occupants. These codes, by law, are to be followed by the one constructing the building.
There is a building code that Jesus gives us in our text that is for building our life correctly. The building code given by civil authorities will differ based on the area and geographical location. These building codes will reflect the areas susceptibility to certain forces of nature such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods. Jesus’ building code however, is for all people everywhere.
We must follow the building codes when we build a material house if we want it to still be standing after a natural disaster. We must also follow the building code given by Jesus if we want to still be standing after adversity strikes.
There are natural storms that rip houses apart, especially those that were not built according to the codes. And there are storms of life that rip families apart and bring destruction to individuals, especially those that were not built according to Jesus’ code.
A person may read and even memorize the building code but if he doesn’t do as the code says when building his house he will not be safe when disaster strikes. A person may read and memorize God’s Word but if he doesn’t know Christ as his Lord and Savior, and is not obeying God’s Word, he will not be safe or “established, strengthened, and settled” when adversity strikes.
Just as the lost, but religiously successful mentioned in verses 21-23, knew the will of God but perished for not obeying it, those today who know the will of God but do not do it will one day perish.
It is by building ourselves up on the truth of God’s Word that we prepare ourselves and are able to withstand the lies and the attacks of the enemy. If you’re not building solely on Jesus Christ, you’re building on sinking sand. Sand will hold for a while but eventually and unexpectedly, it shifts and collapses, and all is lost.
