When I was first out of high school, I spent about a year working for a contractor who was doing new home construction. He built custom homes and one of the main selling points was how well they were insulated. Everything else was sub-contracted except for the insulating of the house, and that was my job. After the framers and electricians were finished, my partner and I would go in and pack it tight with insulation. In the heart of a very cold winter, we went to a job site way off the road back by a lake. As we entered the building, it did not take us long to realize something was wrong. Walking across what would be the living room of this large and expensive house, we went uphill and downhill. I knew this was a custom home, but I doubted very much that someone would order a slope in their living room floor. A quick look in the basement revealed the problem. The post supporting the main I-beam had failed. The ground had shifted with the frost. What was to be a magnificent home with a beautiful view became a useless pile of building materials.
As a carpenter by trade, Jesus understood the importance of a strong foundation as the starting point of a usable home. In one of his parables, he uses this imagery to help us understand what it looks like to build our lives successfully as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We find this story of Jesus at the end of one of the most famous sermons ever preached, The Sermon on the Mount. This parable is his closing illustration used to summarize what he had been teaching. In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus tells of a foolish builder who had sand as the foundation and a wise builder who built on a rock. When the storm came, the only structure left standing was the one built on a firm foundation.
His point is that we can enjoy lives of unshakable faith when we choose to build them on the firm foundation of God’s eternal Kingdom. To drive this truth home, Jesus teaches that a Kingdom life cannot be counterfeited. In verse 46 he says, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Jesus wants us to evaluate just what it is we are choosing to do about him in our lives. His implication is clear, he is more interested in us living as if he is Lord of our lives than he is in us simply declaring this to be true. Jesus is teaching that our lifestyle, the fruit that is seen by others, must be a result or outflow from hearts and minds that have committed to his complete Lordship in our lives. We are challenged to allow Jesus to be the supreme authority, one who has unrestricted control over every aspect of our lives. We need to keep in mind, this is not a call to perfection, it is an invitation to join the Spirit of God on an amazing journey.
At the end of this short parable, Jesus gives the consequence of us missing the point when he teaches that a Kingdom life cannot take shortcuts. Verse 49, But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Jesus loves us so much that he wants the best for our lives. He knows the tricks of Satan and the fallacy of chasing things that will ultimately let us down. His warning is “the destruction will be complete.”
But praise God we do not have to settle for that. A Kingdom life must be rooted in obedience. Verse 47, I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. There is no situation in this earthly kingdom that can shake the true disciple who is grounded in obedient faith.God has done his part in laying the perfect foundation for our lives on this earth and our eternities in heaven. We simply need to tap into that foundation, and we will stand firm in his Heavenly Kingdom.