Building on a Solid Foundation

It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.

Luke 6:48 NLT

In September 2020, part of a parking structure collapsed in Midtown Atlanta, United States injuring numerous people. One worker was trapped under the collapsed portion, and rescuers deployed inflatable pillows to raise the debris off him. The worker, freed from the rubble after about 11 minutes, was hospitalised with a serious leg injury. This collapse in Atlanta is just one example of many building failures that occur worldwide. What’s the major cause in most cases? Poor foundation! No wonder the first parable of Jesus references foundations.

In both Matthew and Luke where this parable is referenced, Jesus had just finished preaching a long sermon popularly called ‘The Beatitudes.’ He ended the conversation with a rather instructive statement: make sure you put the things you have heard into practice.

According to Jesus, just like any building will collapse with time if the foundation is not properly built, so will a believer who does not make it a lifestyle to practise what he learns from the word of God. On the day of testing, he will fall like a pack of cards. He said, “But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” (Luke 6:49 NLT). 

However, if we decide to make a habit of always doing what the word tells us, on the day when the pressure of life rises against us, we will be “like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built” (Luke 6:49 NLT).

Life challenges and pressure will come for us all! Life will question our convictions. Situations will arise in this world to shake us up, but whether or not we will stand depends on the kind of building we are erecting now. What is your foundation built upon?

PRAYER