The Firm Foundation

Daily Reading: Genesis 15; Luke 6

“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show
you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.
It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock.
When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, 
it stands firm because it is well built.
But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house
without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse
into a heap of ruins.” (Luke 6:46-49)

When I was 16 years old I got a job as a cook in a Sirloin Stockade Steak House. I arrived the first day for work and found that the cook who was suppose to train me had quit only minutes before my arrival. The manager spent about ten minutes showing me how to cook steaks on the indoor grill and left me to do my new job. Within less than an hour the restaurant was full and I was completely overwhelmed. I had not been prepared for the job that I was suppose to do. I didn’t know which steak was which, so people who had ordered an ribeye might have received a filet. I undercooked steaks and I overcooked steaks. I must have wasted hundreds of dollars worth of steak that evening, it was pitiful! That night the floods of life had swept in and my house had come crashing down! But, I learned a vital lesson about foundations that evening.

I had entered that job with desire, a good attitude and a commitment of loyalty, but without the proper training it was impossible for me to do the job the way it needed to be done. I simply did not have the proper foundation for the expectations of the job before me.

In over twenty-two years of ministry I have been confronted more times than I can count with people who have authentically come to Jesus and have surrendered their lives as disciples of Christ, yet seem to evidence no real change in their lives. They entered the faith with desire, and attitude, but they never developed the foundation of the faith. They never grow from being babies in the faith.

As I have gotten to know many of these people I have discovered that in almost every circumstance one of two things has prevented this church baby from growing into a healthy active adult. Either they have never studied the bible, so do not have the capacity of knowing the teaching of Christ, or they have studied the bible, but never lived out what they have learned. Read the passage above again. Jesus is clear that his followers know his teachings and that they obey them. You can’t just come to church on Sunday and expect to grow to be a disciple of Christ. The foundation of the christian life is knowing Christ and knowing Christ is chiefly accomplished by the consistent and systematic study of scripture.

Just as not knowing the Bible prevents a person from living it out. There is another group of church people who study the bible all the time. They read the book. They are in small group studies. They can argue this point and that with great capacity, yet they never apply anything of what they learn. Nothing is changed from the wisdom that has entered into their brain. 

Jesus says that the person who listen’s to what he says and then follows it is like a house built on a solid foundation for it will remain firm and strong in all of life's trials. He is using this wonderful illustration to let us know that the foundation of our faith is going to be built on knowing Christ and following Christ. There are other things that come in our growth as disciples; prayer, service, giving, participating in worship and communion, but I believe the foundation comes from growing in the Word and living out what we learn.

Lord, help us to be students who work diligently to know you and to follow you. Amen.