Matthew 7:24-27
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”
This summer I have become hooked on HGTV and watching the shows Fixer Upper, Love It or List It and Property Brothers. In all three shows it seems that some buyers/owners are surprised to learn that the home they are buying or already own may have foundational or structural problems. Sometimes these problems have not been detected with the house inspection, but only as the demolition work has proceeded to make way for planned renovations. Most often the work is costly and must be done to insure the safety of the occupants and to maintain the value of the property. We quickly learn that a good foundation is absolutely necessary!
Chapters Five, Six and Seven of the Gospel according to Matthew are known as the Sermon on the Mount. What a sermon it is! As you have noticed from these devotionals this summer, Jesus packed a lot into this sermon and you can imagine how many sermons pastors these days could get out of this most famous sermon.
Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with this vivid word picture of two men … a wise one and a foolish one. The wise man is the one who builds his house on a rock and it is able to withstand the rain, flood and winds. It has been built on the good foundation. Jesus likens everyone who hears his words and acts on them to the wise man who built his house on the rock. The foolish man built his house on sand so that when the rains, flood and winds came, the house fell and great was its destruction.
I have often thought how many of the world’s problems could be solved if everyone lived by the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) …just one verse out of this entire sermon. Truly, we will have a good foundation as we listen to and act upon Jesus’ words of wisdom for living our lives as found in the Sermon on the Mount.
O God, the Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. As we are building blocks of Christ’s Church, grant that our daily living may be guided by Jesus words of wisdom found in the Sermon on the Mount. In His name, we pray. Amen.