Devotion #3: I Built My House of Stone
“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 that 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
Growing up, I loved to watch Disney movies, and I vividly remember watching Disney’s “Silly Symphonies,” which was a group of short films that had a moral lesson throughout the film. My favorite one was about the tale of “The Three Little Pigs.” Many do not realize that this tale is a rip-off of the Bible. The moral lesson and main objective of this fable is directly from Jesus’ teachings in Matthew chapter 7. The fool builds his house on the sand (or made of twigs and hay), and when the storms of life come, the house is blown down and destroyed.
I remember thinking as a child that the first two pigs were crazy and made no sense. How could you know that danger is near and you fail to prepare? Growing up has only shown me that all too often, we, as Christians, fail to take up the tasks given to us by Christ, and we fail to listen to His teachings. We build our house on falsities and lies, and when sin and Satan (the wolf) attack our lives, we are left in disaster, just like the fable shows. Our house is destroyed, our family is lost, and we are running for our lives, seeking the help we should have sought and listened to in the first place.
Jesus is calling us to live a life that is wise and built on the rock who is Jesus Christ, a firm foundation, as we so often hear in worship. A warning is being given to us that the storm, the flood, or the battle is coming, and we must be prepared. Jesus is giving us the lesson now. We can choose to either learn it the easy way, prepare, and build our house on Christ, or we can choose to be foolish and pick up the pieces of the shamble that our life is the hard way.
I love that the Bible prepares us for situations before they ever happen. Jesus knows that these trials are going to come and so He wants us to be prepared before they even happen. So, the choice is up to you. Which fable character will you choose to be, the first two who were foolish or the last one who was diligent and wise that built his house of stone?