“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
– Matthew 7:24-27
“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
– Acts 4:11-12
“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:
‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’
and
‘A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.’
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
– 1 Peter 2:1-12
My heart has been troubled these past several months. I think most people would agree that 2020 has been a bizarre year and we are somehow only halfway through the year. Words that should be used scarcely such as “unprecedented” and “uncharted” have become part of everyday life as we all venture to what may be a new normal way of life. This year has also been a very charged year in social and political realms filled with racial equality, police brutality, protests, riots, shutdowns, reopening phases, increase of COVID-19 cases, and wearing masks. Those are just a few of the many issues in today’s world. On top of that, pile on everything that comes with it being an election year. Division, disunity, and dissension are spreading faster than the Coronavirus.
Social media is no help as it throws gasoline on the fire of division. Gone are the days of the art of conversation, taking the time to think, form thoughts, speak with wisdom, and listen for the sake of listening to those around you without forming an attack or response. The law of the land is to be the first to come up with a quick-witted, targeted statement for the sake of being relevant in order to get likes and retweets as we all become “influencers” on society. And if you don’t get on the train of reposting and shouting an opinion with imminent fervor, there is public lashing of shame for holding your tongue and remaining silent.
Please do not hear me wrong and read this the wrong way. There is need to speak up. We need to stand side by side with our brothers and sisters experiencing oppression. Black lives do matter and we need to listen, educate, and work towards equality and justice while moving away from systemic racism. We do need to be aware and up to date on how to best take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. However, we must do so in ways without spreading hate and dissension among social media and throughout our communities.
These past few weeks I’ve had a song stuck in my head that I learned in church as a kid years ago using Matthew 7:24-27 as its lyrics. If you were ever in church as a child you may pick up the tune and hand motions to these lyrics:
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rains came tumbling down
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
And the house on the rock stood firm
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rains came tumbling down
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
And the house on the sand went splat
As people go through the motions of life, they are building something. Looking around, it looks like many people are building castles. They are making names for themselves and they seem to be crafting these elaborate creations with marvelous detail. Some may stand for all these great causes offering up support and solutions. While these causes, support, and solutions are great and the castles they’ve built seem like marvelous works, many have built their castles on a foundation of sand. When storms come, their foundation shifts and eventually they always sink and crash. There is no grounding. It is only when people build their houses on the foundation of rock that their houses will be safe from sinking and crashing down.
So how does one build a house upon the rock? First, you must know what the Rock is. Jesus is the Rock, the Cornerstone, the firm foundation. He is the one we should be rooted and grounded in. While all these causes are great things to stand for, the causes alone are not firm foundations. One must look at the heart and intent behind them all and motives are not always pure. The truth is that we live in a very dark and troubled world. The reason the world looks so dark is because our human instinct leans toward hate and selfishness. While the world offers many solutions that strive for goodness, there is only one solution to transforming a person’s heart. That solution is Jesus. Jesus is the only one that can transform hearts.
As we wade through all the waves brought on from this year let us not be distracted from the root of what the world truly needs, a savior that transforms hearts. Without Jesus, true change will never be brought about in the issues, causes, and pandemics in the world. We need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus.
As believers and followers of Christ, we should be standing up for equality and doing what we can to take care of those in need. We are called to love everyone always, but our call to love is not for the sake of love. We love because God, who is love, calls us to love. “We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). If we truly love those around us, it is not enough to only love them in times of crisis and standing behind a cause that is good. We must go beyond. To truly love others, we must love them toward Jesus, the one who first loved us. What a tragedy to love someone only to meet their needs and to be a “good person” that they never come to know true love that saves and transforms their life. To do that means that we did not truly love them. As we wade through the water, mud, and sand, we must show true love to others by pointing to the rock and firm foundation only found in Christ.
As seen in 1 Peter 2:1-12, we must put away all malice and slander. Nonbelievers are watching us in how we react and respond to the issues of the world today. We must keep our conduct honorable and glorifying to God, aligning with the Truth, being merciful and gracious in our actions and words. As you respond, you must respond in grace, not expecting nonbelievers to act in the same way because those in darkness are not in the light. But in your interactions, as a child of light and having a firm foundation, you can lead them from darkness to light, from the sand to the rock.
Now for those who have built their house upon the rock and have the firm foundation of Christ, we must be unified. Sadly, the church and bride of Christ is not free from disunity. Disunity is addressed a multitude of times throughout the New Testament. This is because as believers, we are on a continual path of sanctification, hopefully conforming more and more into the image of Christ with every passing day, but while we are still on this earth we are still broken people. We must not give into the flesh and selfishness to set fire to our house with flames of division, disunity, and dissension. Above our political stances, the causes we stand for, and our opinions on the pandemic, we are part of the body of Christ. So why are we sometimes the first to pour the gasoline of social media, unrest, and uproar upon the fire of division? We are to be of one body and one house, united.
It would be wise for us to heed Paul’s words to the Colossian believers that ring true today in Colossians 3:12-17; 4:5-6:
“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him…Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
We must put off the old self and set it aside. We must put on the new self with a foundation in Christ and be united in Him. We must walk in wisdom, make the best use of our time, and watch how we speak. In times of conflict, let us not be quick to turn to social media and other outlets to speak. Rather, make the best use of your time. Slow down. Use wisdom. Seek truth in the Word and prayer, seeing what God has to say rather than your political party, culture, and the world. Be gracious in your speech and know how you should respond to each person. Love everyone always and always point them to Christ.
May our foundation always be grounded in the firm foundation of Christ. Do not lose focus on Jesus. Do not build a castle of sand putting your trust, hope, and salvation in the shifting sands of causes, opinions, social media, and political parties. If you do, all will crumble and fall. Rather, build your house upon the rock. Let the words of Edward Mote’s hymn written in 1834 ring through your heart today, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.”
Heart Soul Mind & Strength 