The Builders (Matthew 5:24-27)

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Happy reading! =)

The Builders (Matthew 5:24-27)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (27^th October 2012)

They felled great trees and gathered much wood

Quarried as many stones as they could

Reeds were bound with fibre for the roof

Building materials were fine and good

The foolish builder started construction

For his house during the hot season

The sun-baked sand was his foundation

It seemed like a secured decision

The wise builder dug through the sand

Unswerving in the work of his hands

When things got hard he did not relent

Till he reached the rock beneath the sand

This rock was where his house was built on

The foundation where his house stood strong

The firm ground on which he could depend

For all other ground was sinking sand

And then came the heavy rain and storm

That brought in the raging floods and winds

The house founded on the rock stood strong

But the house built on the sand caved in

 

My dear readers, is your life built on

The shifting foundations of this world?

Or is it firmly rooted upon

The solid rock of Christ and his Word?

Points for Reflection:   

Since there are quite a bit of metaphors here, I thought it would be helpful to define what the imageries mean:

a)      The House (v.24-27)

·         Beliefs, convictions, aspirations and choices in a person’s life.

b)      The Sand (v.21-23, 26-27)?

·         Any unstable foundation for life apart from Christ.

·         e.g. money, career, intellect, achievements, human relationships, fame, etc…

c)       The foolish man who built his house on the sand (v.21-23, 26-27)?

·         Anyone who builds their lives on any unstable foundation for life apart from Christ (Non Christians & even those who claim to be Christians).

·         During the hot summer months in Jesus’ time, the sand around the Sea of Galilee was hard on the surface. It seemed secured enough & even convenient to build a house on the sand until the rain, floods and winds come.

d)      The Rock (v.24-25)?

·         Jesus Christ, the solid foundation for life.

e)      The wise man who built his house on the rock (v.24-25)?

·         Christians who build their lives on the bedrock of Jesus and his Word are truly wise, regardless of the shifting, unstable and temporal foundations of this world.

·         A wise builder knew that he needed to dig several feet below the surface to the bedrock in order to establish the foundation for his house.

·         The act of ‘digging’ requires hard work which can be divided into 2 parts:

(i)                  Reading & studying God’s Word diligently (Psalm 119:15-16).

(ii)                Putting God’s Word into practice (James 1:22–23 and 2:20–22).

·         The evidence of whether one is truly a believer is in whether one does the words of Jesus (cf. James 1:22–23 and 2:20–22)

f)       The rain, floods and winds (v.25, 27)?

·         Problems and trials of life and ultimately, the Day of Judgment (after physical death or when Christ returns).

What does your house (beliefs, convictions, aspirations and choices in your life) consist of?

Is your house founded on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ or on the shifting sand of this world?

Are you the wise man who built his house on the rock or the foolish man who built his house on the sand?

In what ways can you grow increasingly dependent on God instead of putting your security and hope in earthly & temporal resources?

How has learning & putting into practice the Word of God helped you to stand firm in God during trials and testing?