Building a House

In Matthew 7 Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish builders,

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (vs. 24-27)

Each of us is building a house.  Our house is our very lives.  We each have a choice as to how we build our house.  We can build it according to the things of this world, things that will never last, or we can build it out of the things of God, treasures that are eternal.  The good news is no matter where we are at in life, it is never too late to start over. We can begin building afresh and anew.    

Each of us will give an account to God for how we live our lives.  Times of trial and testing reveal the quality of the house we are building.  In the furnace of affliction, hidden things come to light.  Weaknesses are exposed, and, as we endure testing, our house is made stronger.

In I Corinthians Paul writes, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (3:11-14)

Do you know where you stand today?  Have you built your life on Jesus Christ?  If you have not, it is never too late to begin again.  You can begin today. 

Some years ago I was walking with a friend.  She looked at me, kind of out of the blue, and said, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.”  I knew when the words came out of her mouth that God was speaking to me through her (not to mention that that is a verse in the Bible, Ephesians 6:10).  God was challenging me.  He was challenging me to do my part in growing deep in Him.

Likewise, we each have to do our part in the building of our house.  We spend time in prayer, in the Word, walk in faith, praise Him every day, trust Him the best we can, and then allow the Lord to work in our lives as He wills.  If we do our part, we can trust Him to do what we cannot do.  Together, we build a house in His wisdom, a house with rooms filled “with rare and beautiful treasures.” (Proverbs 24:3-4)