… and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. – Jesus
At the conclusion of Jesus’ famous sermon, what we call the Sermon the Mount, he gives his conclusion in the form of a parable.
There are two men. If you hear these words and do them, then you’re like a man who built his house on a rock, and when the rains and storms came, then the house remained standing. If you hear these words and do not do them, then you’re like a man who built his house on the sand. When the rain and storms came, the house did not remain. It fell.
And great was its fall.
Looking at the contrast here, let’s first look at what they have in common. First, they both built a house. Whether we know it or not, we’re building on something. We can deny it, even, but that doesn’t make it more or less true. We all build our own “house”, our life, on something.
Second, the rains and storms came to both. If you think Christianity or following Jesus or entering the Kingdom means that we are now exempt from hard times or struggles or storms beating on us, then that isn’t the Way taught by Christ, nor is it the faith expressed by the Apostles in the New Testament. We’ve all had times in our lives when we felt like life was “beating on us” to the point we didn’t know if we would survive.
Third, they both heard the word of Christ. Both went to church. Both heard the sermons and teachings and read their Bibles. They both know what Jesus said.
The only difference between them was that one did not live by the word of God and the second did. And that one difference was the difference between life and death.
In his letter to the church, James says it this way. If we hear and do not do, it’s like a man who looked in the mirror and then when he walked away immediately forgot what he saw. It’s like it didn’t happen.
God’s revelation about Himself and the Kingdom is precious. It is the most worthwhile substance in existence. And to have that and not follow it is like crapping on diamonds and gold. Except multiply that by infinity.
Living by the Revelation of God and the Kingdom (all interconnected) is the most secure thing you can imagine. Many of us live by our feelings/emotions or our intellect or our will, all of which are not evil in and of themselves but were not designed to be the foundation for reality and life. Therefore, they each become idols apart from God’s revelation and that leads to a fall. And how great is that fall.
The revelation of God, the love of God, the Kingdom, is unfailing. It is immovable. it is unshakable. Because it comes from the only God in existence, and he is immutable. His love and revelation and Kingdom are of the same nature. And the Kingdom of God is meant to inform the intellect, stabilize the emotion, and purify the will. It is holistic.
God loves all of us, every part of us, so His Kingdom engages the mind – what better or lofty topic than the powers and influences that are unseen but created all that is seen? His Kingdom gives us emotional security – we are loved, accepted, and we have worth. That is not something we emotionally seek or can earn but possess within our very identity. His kingdom gives us the proper motivation and will – to love and serve others solely for their eternal good and needing nothing in return since we will possess and will inherit the Kingdom that is over all.
That is a complete love we can only experience in relationship with Him. The words I just used cannot begin to describe how fulfilling and amazing that love is.
It is not a love or a Kingdom that rescues us from the storms and the winds of life that beat upon us. No. It is a love and a Kingdom that will endure these things and still stand shining in the sun after the storms do their worst.
To live by anything else is tragic. How great is that fall.
Peace.
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