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“Someone who listens to my words and acts on them is like a man who built his house on rock…but the person who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on sand” (Luke 6:43-4)
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Why would anyone build their house on sand?
It’s sounds illogical – and it is – but people still did it.
For example, several rivers flow through Palestine, the place where Jesus exercised most of his public ministry. And in the summertime, some of these rivers dry up.
Consequently, people built their homes in the riverbed, because building on sand was much easier than chiseling into rock.
But by October the rains came and washed these flimsy homes away.
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Anyone who built their house on sand, as opposed to rock, suffered from two fatal flaws: laziness and shortsightedness.
They didn’t want to put the work into having a lasting home. And they failed to foresee the winter rains.
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Similarly, Jesus tells us that faith is hard work. It demands effort, much like chiseling into rock.
But when the storms of life come barreling towards us, we will survive. Anyone without faith, on the other hand, can easily be swept away.
How has my faith helped me to endure different challenges in life?
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That’s what faith is for – to give us hope in times of trial, patience in times of temptation, and joy all the days in between.
