A couple of nights ago, I drove past a stone house in our area, the Shippen Manor, that dates to the era of the Revolutionary War, once owned by a wealthy family from Philadelphia. It is now a museum, beautifully restored. As I looked at the home there on the hillside in Oxford, NJ, I wondered what kind of foundation had been dug for it. It must be good for the house stands straight and strong!
These words of Jesus came to mind. "I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me. It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins.” (Luke 6:47-49, NLT)
Most Christians would affirm that Jesus Christ is their foundation, their hope. However, I ask myself, do we really respect His brilliance and conform our day to day choices to His words? Dallas Willard makes this stinging observation: "Far too often, He is taken as a mere icon, a wraithlike semblance of a man living on the margin of 'real' life where you and I must dwell. He is perhaps fit for the role of sacrificial lamb or alienated social critic, but little more." - The Great Omission, Harper, 2006
What kind of wisdom does He offer as the foundation of life?
Here are a few examples.
- Jesus tells us to forgive those who offend us. Do we see that as impractical advice or as the wisdom of the perfect Man?
Jesus knows that if we refuse to forgive we pile up relational debts that create all kinds of spiritual, emotional, and even physical problems. His insight into the way we are made causes Him to know that forgiveness is best. So, will we do it?
- Jesus counsels disciples to avoid trusting in accumulations of wealth on earth as security.
He says that we ought to store our wealth in Heaven by investing ourselves in God’s work. (*Do not just think “church work” when you read “God’s work.” We do God’s work when we care for others, when we practice spiritual disciplines, when we consistently worship, when we pause for meaningful prayer and mediation, just as much as when we take on some role in the Church.) Do we trust that wisdom and put those things in a place of priority or do we set aside that counsel as impractical for this materialistic age?
- Jesus teaches us to love – God and others – selflessly, even at great cost.
This kind of love, He says, pleases the Father and is the foundation of all the rest of our religion. Will we seek to love in that way?
To trust His wisdom as the guide for life is a faith decision. Making His words our foundation is similar to making a good investment. We do not look for the immediate rich return; we allow the harvest to ripen, to reap the benefits of a life of meaning, hope, purpose, and eternal reward. Living for Christ, the life of being His follower, is not a get rich quick deal. Honestly, sometimes our own way appears bettter, and may be so in the moment. But, His words are life and are worthy of ultimate respect and obedience. John reminds us that "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.. . . From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." (John 1:4,16, NIV)
Just a the quality of the foundation of a building becomes
evident in time, so in our lives the foundational wisdom by which we live will reveal
itself in time
Here is a word from the Word. Read it a couple of times thoughtfully and do a check on the foundation on which you are building your life. "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 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." (1 Corinthians 3:10-15, NIV)
(Video of this blog at this link)
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How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word
What more can He say than to you He has said
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled
Fear not He is with us O be not dismayed
For He is our God our Sustainer and Strength
He'll be our Defender and cause us to stand
Upheld by His merciful almighty hand
How firm our foundation
How sure our salvation
And we will not be shaken
Jesus firm foundation
The soul that is trusting in Jesus as Lord
Will press on enduring the darkest of storm
And though even hell should endeavor to shake
He'll never no never no never forsake
He'll never no never no never forsake
Age to age He stands faithful to the end
All may fade away but He will remain
He will remain
Bryan Brown | Jason Ingram | Tony Wood
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