Building Upon the Rock

https://odb.org/MY/2022/08/21/two-houses

What does Jesus mean when He says those who hear His words and put them into practice are like those who built their house on the rock where when the rain came, the streams rose and the wind beat against it, it will not fall?

Will loving God and loving your neighbour, for example, cause us or bring us to a condition where we are on solid foundation like a man having built his house on the rock? Is that what Jesus meant by hearing His words and putting them into practice?

Yes, I believe so! If we practice what Jesus teaches, we will then be in a Covenant relationship with God and like ancient Isreal, we will also be keeping the Covenant and be obeying His percepts. The New Covenant is built upon Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour but the principle remains the same as the Old Covenant – we are to keep our side of the Covenant and obey His percepts except that instead of the detailed and lengthy Law of Moses, it is now the teaching of Jesus which is basically a summary of that Law.

The Covenant relationship with Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit is the strong foundation of a house built upon the rock. It is a relationship that will withstand the rain, streams that rise up and the wind. Basically it is a relationship that holds our faith together even when storms come our way and attempt to drown and destroy us. Our faith will be unwavering because we know God in a Covenant relationship. He is our God and we are His people. He protects us when harm comes our way. We may be hurt and bruised but we will not be defeated. We will face the effects of the economic downturn caused by the disruptions and inflation brought on by Covid but we will not be defeated. Our faith will stand firm and strong. We will still love God and our neighbour. We became who we are today in our faith by loving God and our neighbour and we will continue to love God and our neighbour in the present and in the days to come.

My encouragement to all of us today is to continue to build our faith on the rock of our salvation, on Jesus Christ our Lord and like the man who built his house on the rock, our faith will stand firm and will be unwavering when the rain, streams and wind come! Whatever storms life bring us, we will remain with Christ and in Christ! So long as we have Jesus in the boat with us, we will make it through the storm!