“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. The rain came down, the streams/floods rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25
The final verses of Jesus’s longest teaching segment open with, “anyone who hears these words of Mine…” This is Jesus’s closing argument, the conclusion of everything he’s said in the previous three chapters.
My thoughts have been drawn in two directions as I’ve been working on this blog: how solid the life that is built on the teachings of Jesus is and how smoothly storms can be weathered when your life and foundation are solid.
The older I’ve gotten, I’ve met more people, heard more stories, and observed more around me. All of this has led me to realize how much more straightforward life is when you follow what Jesus teaches. Following the teachings isn’t easy, and roses and rainbows aren’t promised just because you do, but the teachings truly are a blueprint for how to live well in this world. Jesus’s teachings and other Biblical principles tell us, in generalities, how to manage our money; how to treat our family, enemies, and everyone we interact with; how to know who to listen to and who to ignore; how to treat our bodies; everything.
I don’t know about you – but I’m a woman who likes a plan! Knowing what the expectations are, and in some cases, how to get there, is great. Even better is seeing how much more fulfilling and stable of a life results from carrying out those expectations. I see stories on social media and sometimes think, “these people need Jesus.” The family drama, the meltdowns over things happening in the world (especially politically) – things that wouldn’t be happening if we loved each other like Jesus said and trusted him like he says. We’re still fallen people living in a fallen world, but I feel like making the effort to live like Jesus teaches makes for a much more stable life.
I’ve seen this stability play out in my own life. If you asked if I’ve had an easy life, my answer would pretty quickly be yes because there are a lot of terrible things I haven’t experienced. But there have certainly been times that left me confused about God’s plan: I spent extra time working to get into grad school and ended up doing a program that had me living abroad for several years; and my husband was diagnosed with cancer 10 months into our marriage and underwent 3 months of chemo.
When most people hear these two facts they typically have polar-opposite reactions. The first situation is, “Woah, that’s so cool. You got to live somewhere else, experience another culture, travel, etc.” The second situation evokes, “Oh, I’m so sorry. That’s just terrible.” But for me, these situations were pretty similar in the level of turmoil they caused. Moving abroad, I was 4,000 miles from home, not on the life-plan I wanted, and alone. In the cancer diagnosis, we had promised in sickness and health, there was a huge support system, and we had his oncologist as a guide. Because of the firm foundation of Jesus and his teachings, both of these circumstances felt far more like speed bumps on our journey rather than exit ramps or road closures.
Jesus has given us many insights into how to live well. He’s talked about our purpose, loving, serving, praying, forgiving, trusting, asking, and following – along with other topics we didn’t cover in this blog series. He has covered most everything we need to know regarding our thoughts and actions in this life. I pray you build your house on the rock of these teachings and live confidently in the stability Jesus provides.