February 27

Text: Matthew 7:24

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.” (NASB)

When I was a teenager, I worked as a carpenter’s apprentice.  At that time foundations were noticeable only at first.  My beginning lesson was learning the importance of foundations: “The most important and critical part of a house is not pretty and is rarely seen.”  After determining the location of the house, where foundation trenches were to be dug was planned with great care.  Once the trenches (and—if necessary—places for pilings) were dug, a footing of concrete was poured and carefully leveled.  When the footing dried, then concrete blocks were laid and leveled.  In time, what was left of the trenches was filled, the house was built, and great effort was exerted to hide the foundation.

There was nothing attractive about foundations—a series of ditches, crude but level concrete, and unpainted concrete blocks.  Yet, was the foundation ever essential!  The shape of the house, the ability of  walls to “fit,” and the ability of all the pretty things to remain pretty were dependent on the strength and shape of the foundation.

If the foundation “settled” later, noticeable cracks would appear inside the house.  If the foundation “failed,” the house needed expensive repairs to be livable.  If there was no foundation, the house was at the mercy of the storms that came.

Life becomes unlivable if it has no foundation.  The person’s only choice is to suffer through whatever happens and survive—not live.  If life has an inadequate foundation, the person may appear fine on the outside, but is an internal mess.  If a person’s foundation completely fails as a life storm rages, he/she quickly is at the mercy of a merciless storm that does not care about the destruction it produces.

For a person to declare that his teachings can be the foundation for life is an enormous claim!  Jesus came to be our foundation in life!

Suggestion for reflection: Determine your foundation for your life.  (Read James 1:21-25.)