When we step into a plane, train, or even our car we want the structure to be solid and made of good material. We wouldn’t trust a paper airplane or plastic train track when we are planning a trip across the country. The foundation, the basic structure, of our machinery is very important.
So, why then is the foundation and structure of our entire lives less important?
If we thought of our lives as one of those pieces of machinery, then we would probably take more care in what we base or build our lives on.
What is your foundation made out of today?
The Bible actually has quite a lot to say about our foundation of life.
Matthew 7:24-27 – Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
This may just sound like a story, which it is, but Jesus’ gave this as an example of what our foundation should be like. The wise man built his foundation upon something that was strong, that would last, and never change (like Jesus Christ), but the foolish man built his foundation on sand (fame and fortune), which we all know shifts and twists with the slightest change in moisture or weather. The rock that Jesus wants our lives to be built upon is Him and His word, truth.
That truth starts with our Salvation in Christ. When we understand that we are sinners separated from God, we can go to him and accept his gift of eternal life by believing that Jesus paid the price of our sins by dying on the cross and shedding his blood. Knowing that when he rose again on the third day he sealed that payment for eternity. Our simple belief in that payment can become the foundation of our lives that will last forever.
After salvation, we often build our lives (our structures) on the things that are pretty and make us fit into the world around us because we know that our foundation is sure, but Jesus calls these things sand.
What is your structure built with right now?
We don’t always realize what we are building on top of our foundation in Christ, until something happens and our structure/lives start to fall apart. Nothing can destroy the foundation we have found in Christ through salvation, but everything we have built on top can be destroyed. If not in this world, then at the end of time. Jesus will reveal to us what our focus was really built with, by fire.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 – 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
So, instead of going with the flow of what everyone is focused on (popularity, money, fame, success), take a moment and consider your materials for your structure. What is it build with? Will it crumble at the first sign of trouble or struggle? What can you do right now to make sure that your frame is strong and durable?
The first step is to acknowledge that you don’t know everything and there is no way that you can figure out everything in your life on your own. Then… you have to decide to go to the one that is all-knowing and wants to help you build with things that are full of truth, Jesus Christ.