What's Your House Made Of?

Image Credit: CoPilot

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. Matthew 7:24-25

 In storytelling there is a long history behind the “Rule of Three.” Jesus utilized this mechanic as well, I’m thinking of the story of the Good Samaritan. The first two people who came down the road and encountered an injured man crossed to the other side and moved on while the third person, the Good Samaritan, stopped and helped him. In our more modern era, the first story demonstrating this rule that comes to my mind, is that of the “Three Little Pigs.” These pigs, brothers in some tellings, are building their homes. They know there is danger from a “Big, Bad Wolf,” but the first two are more interested in their own comfort and entertainment and they build their houses in a quick slip-shod manner, just enough to shelter them from the sun but, as they were to find, not enough to protect them from the wolf!

 In early versions of this story, before Disney got a hold of it, the first two pigs didn’t escape and make it to their brother’s house. They were devoured by the Big, Bad Wolf. As I read this, I was reminded of the person who built their house using sand as their foundation (Matthew 7:26-27). I’m near the ocean as I write this and everything here is sand. In fact, it takes a great deal of effort to build a firm foundation because of it. If you’ve ever built a sand castle at the beach, you know the destructive power of the wind, waves, and rain to break it down. In a similar way, a structure built upon an unstable base, like the leaning tower of Pisa, is doomed to struggle and ultimate collapse.

 Contrary to this is the third little pig, the one who built his house of brick. In this well-made house he, and in later tellings his two brothers, found protection and safety. What was the difference? The third pig’s structure was solid, intentional, and took time to build. While they don’t discuss the foundation of the building, the bricks are the structural integrity that keep the pigs safe. In addition to being called our firm foundation, Jesus is also referred to as the cornerstone of His church (Ephesians 2:19-22). I remember the Disney version where the third pig happily spends his days carefully spreading mortar and placing one brick on top of another in order to build a solid structure while his brothers party and tease him. This reminds me of us building our house on the solid rock of Jesus and carefully choosing the materials that go into its structure.

Image Credit: CoPilot

 Our verses today talk about the wise man who built his house on a rock. What does it mean to build your house on a rock? I mean the literal meaning is clear, but what about the spiritual or metaphorical meaning? How do we build our house on a rock. Well, the first thing is to look at the rock.

 Who is the rock? God is the rock! In 2 Samuel 22:2-3 we read that "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior--from violent people you save me” In God we find our stability, our refuge from the trials of this life. He is the horn of our salvation: defending, protecting, anointing, announcing and serving as our safe place. So now that that’s clear, let’s look at how we are to build our house on Him.

 Obviously, this is not a literal wood and nails house, but our spiritual dwelling place. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 tells us the we, ourselves, are God’s building. As mentioned before, the foundation of this building is Jesus. There is no other foundation upon which we can successfully build our lives. If we try to build it on wealth or power or fame, we will ultimately be left in a collapsing shell of a structure. Starting with the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, we are instructed to build our house from whatever seems right to us, but acknowledging that all of this will have to stand up under fire and testing. If we, like the three little pigs, build our house out of straw or sticks – easy things to manipulate, cheap to obtain – this testing will in fact blow our house down. But praise God! He assures us in 1 Corinthians 3:15 that even if everything we build burns up in the fire of testing we will still be saved, but as one barely escaping the flames!

Here's the Thing: I don’t know about you, but I’d rather build my house like the third little pig, in such a way that I can live in it safely and comfortably through the storms of life and then exit a sound structure, perhaps one that my loved ones could utilize once I’ve moved onto glory, straight into the waiting arms of Jesus. I’m not indicating that anyone could enter heaven on my coat tails, but that what I leave behind would so point to Jesus as to be a strength and encouragement in others’ faith walk. 


Abiding in Jesus

  1. Week 1: Trusting the Gardener's Work
    1. John 15:1 - Seven Things Jesus Is
    2. John 15:2 - Pinch Those Suckers Out!
    3. Philippians 2:12-13 - Working Out My Salvation
    4. Matthew 5:16 - Stay Salty!
    5. 1 John 1:6 - Walking in Relationship
  2. Week 2: Bearing Lasting Fruit
    1. John 15:3-4 - It Takes Two to Abide
    2. John 15:5 - Grafted In
    3. John 15:6 - The Most Important Post You'll Ever Read
    4. Psalm 1:1-3 - What We Expect to See
    5. Galatians 5:22 - The Fruit of the Spirit's Not a Coconut!
  3. Week 3: Abiding in Jesus Through His Word
    1. John 15:7-8 - Lost in the Wilderness
    2. John 8:31-32 - The Truth Shall Set You Free
    3. Psalm 119:9-11 - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
    4. Psalm 119:15-16 - Considering His Ways
    5. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - How is He Going to Use THAT?!?
  4. Week 4: Abiding in Jesus Through Obedience
    1. John 15:9-10 - Love, Honor and Obey
    2. James 1:22 - The Forgetful Listener
    3. 1 John 3:24 - How Can I Know if I Have the Holy Spirit in Me?
    4. Matthew 7:24-25
    5. John 14:23-24
  5. Week 5: Abiding in Jesus Through Love
    1. John 15:11-12
    2. John 15:13-14
    3. 1 John 4:10
    4. 1 John 4:11-12
    5. Romans 12:9-13
  6. Week 6: Chosen and Commissioned by Christ to Bear Fruit
    1. John 15:15
    2. John 15:16
    3. Ephesians 2:10
    4. Galatians 6:9
    5. John 15:17

Wrap-Up

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