TO CHEW ON: "'Whoever comes to Me and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood rose, the stream beat vehemently against that house and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.'" Luke 6:47,48.
In picturesque language Jesus describes a life that is stable (Luke 6:46-48) vs. one that is unstable (Luke 6:49). Three thoughts jump out at me from this passage.
1. The "sayings" Jesus says we are to HEAR, what are they? His sayings: the words we have recorded in the Bible of His life and teaching. For His hearers then they were the residue of what they remembered of His public talks. We are immensely blessed to have these sayings in permanent form in the Bible and are able to "hear" them over and over as we read, re-read, and study them.
In keeping with His word picture, Jesus compares these words to a rock—that foundation on which we can safely anchor and build our life-house.
2. To effectively anchor a life to those sayings requires more than just hearing, for the wise builder "does them." That's OBEDIENCE. Jesus spoke often of obedience to His words. He said:
- Obedience draws people into the relationship of God's family - Matthew 12:50.
- Obedience sharpens spiritual discernment - John 7:17.
- Obedience softens God's heart toward us and He and Jesus come to live within us - John 15:23.
- John speaks of how obedience helps set us apart for eternal life - 1 John 2:17.
3. Finally, we see that we will be TESTED: "the flood rose, the stream beat vehemently against that house..." It is in the test of the floods and swollen, swift-flowing streams of life that the integrity of our life's foundation becomes clear.
So we need to ask ourselves:
- Have we built our lives on Jesus and His sayings?
- Are we giving more than intellectual assent to these things?
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for this clear picture of how to build my life on rock. Help me to go deep now so that I will be anchored when trouble comes. Amen.
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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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