I love old houses. Recently I've been watching television shows about different houses from various time periods in England. One of the lessons I am learning is to be glad I live in the 20th century. After all, indoor plumbing is a good thing.
I can get caught up in the moment. Can't you? The finery of a rich home, the spiraling staircase, the china on the long table...and then we begin to compare our home to what we see on the screen. Then we begin to compare what we have with what "they" have. {Who is *they* anyway?} My garden will never be acres in size. I won't have a finished basement. The porch will not wrap from the front to the back of the house. All of this is the outside of the house. What about the inside? After watching a recent series I began to think about the people who used to live in those homes. There were fathers, mothers, children....servants, masters....those who had, and those who had not. Some were educated. Others barely had enough to eat. Many of the aristocratic families had no strong relationships with each other because of the strict and formal "rules" of society. Affairs were rampant. Masters were with servant girls. Guests with other guests. Everything was hush-hush, but everyone knew. People went to church, but there were few morals, unless an action might cause one to look better to those of higher influence. The houses might have been made of marble, but the inside was made of sand. How solid is your house? Jesus told us a story about two men. One built his home on a rock, while the other built his home on the sand. When the winds and rain came, when the flooding happened, the house on the rock stood firm and the one on the sand fell flat. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Our Lord is using a metaphor here. He says, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared..." So we are to compare ourselves. To whom? Jesus says when we hear his words and then act on them we can be compared to the WISE man who built a house on a solid rock foundation. Which means...if anyone hears his words and does NOT act on them, then that person is compared to a foolish man who built on the sand. His fall was great. When I learn more about families who lived in the great homes, many of their stories are tragic. Every now and then you hear about a family that still resides in the family home and the lineage is in tact and is to be respected. But many families went bankrupt, or they were unable to change with the society around them. It's sad. Great was their fall. After Jesus taught the crowd this lesson about the wise and foolish men, the scriptures tell us they were amazed and they thought that Jesus taught with authority, and not like the scribes. Maybe we should consider that and be amazed. Evidently there is value to this lesson that we should heed.
For us to have a house that is solid, we must hear the words of Jesus and act on them. That's it. Easy-peasy. Right. I think hearing is much easier than acting. Yet if we leave the "acting" part out, well, that makes us like the foolish man. Yikes. Who wants to be a fool? Let's put more skin on this scripture. If you read the verses before this story, Jesus told the people that some would say, "Lord, Lord" and would not be admitted into heaven because he never knew them. "Therefore," says Jesus. "Be like the wise man." I think this is why the people were amazed. Jesus told them in order to know him, they had to listen to him and serve him. For thousands of years the Jews had been told they had to follow rules, make sacrifices, and pass on the traditions. Now God's people were hearing a man, of authority who was not like the scribes, tell them what was needed to enter the kingdom of heaven. What does this have to do with you? Well, are you going to enter the kingdom of heaven? Do you know God? Do you listen to Jesus' words and act upon them? Be like the wise man. Build upon The Rock. Jesus.
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Anne Marie has
a Masters Degree in Education with a focus on Christian Education. She
is the author of the blog Future.Flying.Saucers. Anne Marie
has a passion for biblically equipping parents and teachers so children
can fly for Jesus. On Wednesday nights you will find her teaching
Biblical concepts to Awana clubs at her church. All of her Awana and Bible
lessons can be found on her blog.
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