Matthew 7:24-29
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Jesus gave us many Teachings...In one Teaching He says, that in Me you may have peace, yet in this world you will have troubles...But take heart; I have overcome this world...He is letting us know that if we follow Him, we can still have peace in our times of troubles...We may be shaken and unsettled, but peace He left with us, when He ascended to Heaven and God, and His peace He gave unto us: not as the world can give, but as only He can give from His Kingdom...So let not your heart be troubled, neither let your heart be be afraid...
Jesus came to dwell among us so that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly...More abundantly means to have a superabundance of something...So to live an abundant life refers to life in its abounding fullness of joy, strength in our Holy Spirit, strength in our soul and strength in our bodies...We are closer to Jesus, closer to God, closer to the Holy Spirit, and closer to Heaven when we have an abundant life, by following His Teachings...Jesus built His Own life on earth with Teaching God's Word, as One who had the authority from His Father, and not from the other religious leaders...
But to live an abundant life, we have to take the narrow road to the Cross of Calvary...And on that road, it is well lit by the Light, but we will see and have troubles along the Way...So it is so important that when Jesus tells us that we will have troubles in life, we must have faith in Him, and follow Him because He has overcome this world, when our troubles come...
In Jesus teachings, He wants us to live a wise and abundant life...In doing so, we must not only hear His Words and Teachings but put them in practice...Jesus even says the foolish one does not put them into practice...So as we read these verses about the wise and foolish builders of life, we see that living even the wisest and most abundant of lives, that troubles are going to come in our journey of life...The troubles will come like the hardest of winds and rains...And we are tested in our troubled times when these heavy-strong winds ands hard rains come in our lives...We must hold on to His wisdom so we can live the abundant life...So let us remember that troubles are going to come and we must follow His Teachings, by putting them into practice...
Jesus mentions two men in His final Words of His longest Sermon, the Sermon on the Mount...Both men listen to Jesus and what He has to say...But there is a big difference after the listening to Him is done...One man follows His teachings and the other man does not...The foolish man builds His life on a sand foundation...The wise man who follows Jesus and His Teachings and builds His life on the Rock of Jesus' Teachings and Words...We can read this many times but the difference is in each man's actions and in their response to Jesus' Teachings...Both men have listened and both men have heard, but only one of the men follow Jesus and follow His Rock-Life Teachings...This is called obeying and actually following Jesus' commands...
Now why is this important?...For whatever Jesus says to us is full of Living Power: it is sharper than the sharpest dagger, cutting swift and cuts deep into our innermost thoughts and desires with all their parts, exposing us for what we really are...He knows about everyone, everywhere...He knows who will take action and obey, and those who will just be listening...Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from Him to whom we must explain all that we have done...
In Jesus telling this story that vividly demonstrates the difference between an abundant life and a weak life...He said those who are wise build their lives upon the rock-like foundation of hearing and applying God’s Word in their lives...They not only listen to Him, but they really do follow Him and are not just nodding their heads and saying okay, I understand...The wise man takes actions in His life with Jesus and following Him...The other man has only listened to His Teaching and has not put it into practice...A man who "only" hears the Word, yet doesn’t obey it, is basically building his life on sand....So when troubles comes and he is easily moved and shifted...And because the true test of the full life comes and occurs when these types of storms and troubles come literally come into our lives...This is the example that He is giving us here -the Storms of Life...The true starting point and the very foundation for an abundant life that cannot be ignored if you wish to grow stronger in your faith with Jesus...So let us stand strong in our faith and be close to Him each and everyday...We must be on guard, because we do not know when the storms will come...When one's life gets tested by these winds and rains, we can come through the trials with greater faith if our faith is strong in Jesus...Wise men and women recognize that there’s a lesson in every difficult situation in life, and they want each experience to increase their faith...The experiences of troubles with a husband and wife, and you and your neighbors can strengthen your relationships by helping each other, working together, and being kind to one another when the heaviest of rains hit...