It Is Wise To Use God’s Word As A Foundation For Your Life

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“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.” (Matthew 7:24-29 MSG)(Emphases mine)

Jesus is an example of someone who lived out the principles in God’s Word. His life was in stark contrast to the lives of the religious leaders of His day in that He lived what He preached. His teaching was authentic, presented with integrity, and the people recognized the difference. They were amazed. Here was someone who lived what He believed!

Jesus presented the truth about God’s Kingdom and what was required of those who wished to enter it. He clarified that God’s Word is a foundation for the wise person to build an enduring life.

The parable painted a picture of two carpenters building a house. The wise carpenter worked the Word of God into his life, building his home on solid rock. The inevitable storms showed up, and nothing could move that house. It was soundly anchored on the rock of God’s Word. The unwise carpenter built his house on the shifting sand instead of the immovable rock. The storms rolled in, and the house collapsed like a house of cards. It was a house, or life, without the fortifying anchoring of God’s foundational Word.

When you take the Word of God (the words of Jesus) as a mere incidental addition to your life, a suggestion rather than a requirement, you will find that life will knock you over. All your hard work will come to nothing when the storms of life surge around you. God’s Word is foundational, not decorative.

Your future security is not a trivial matter, and it is essential to become intentional to follow the principles presented in God’s Word. Hearing is not enough. Being in the room with Jesus on a Sunday at church is insufficient. Jesus made it clear that the intelligent thing to do, the wise thing to do, is to build the principles and practices presented in God’s Word into your life’s fabric and foundation. That is the only way to remain in the fierce storms that assail everyone in this tumultuous world.

So be wise and make God’s Word your life’s foundation and daily practice.

Excerpted from The Daily Christian: Wisdom by Iann Schonken.

Action Steps

Everyone knows that it is wise to buy insurance against unexpected calamities in your life which may threaten life, limb, and financial stability. Jesus made it clear that storms come to both the wise and unwise. Nobody is exempt. Jesus also showed how we might survive in difficult times. How well have you done thus far in building your life on the rock of God’s Word? Can you do better?
Jesus required His listeners to hear and heed what He taught them. How are you doing in obeying God’s instructions as contained in His Word? Can you do better?
The people noticed that Jesus lived what He preached. What do you think you can do to bring your whole life under the authority of God’s Word? In what way do you need to realign your life with the faith you profess in Jesus?
Remember, you cannot follow Jesus without obeying His words. It is a wise thing to do for you and your family. Let’s do that more than ever!