Matthew 7: 24-27
While in The Netherlands this summer, I learned that as climate change accelerates and ocean levels rise, the country is faced with the dilemma of how to continue living in a land below sea level.
Through a system of windmills, pumps, and dykes, The Netherlands has won the battle so far. But experts do not yet foresee a solution for the upcoming 50-year problem.
One might ask, as I did, "Why not build the dykes higher?" (A dyke is pictured, with windmills in the distance). The problem is that the land is so saturated and moist that adding weight to the dyke would actually cause it to sink. The dykes cannot go any higher.
Unfortunately, The Netherlands does not have enough solid ground to build upon. But in a spiritual sense, we all have solid ground to build upon when we base our lives on Christ. Jesus emphasized this as he concluded the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7: 24-27.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-6-7) and the rest of the Gospels offer solid ground on which to build our lives. The problem is, of course, that we fail to do so consistently. May we be open to the Holy Spirit working in our lives to show us how to put Jesus' words consistently into practice.
I am pleased to say that I am in the last stage of writing a book on how to put some of Jesus' most challenging words into practice. Christ is always calling us into deeper levels of faith. In my book and video study, "From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom," I explore 12 cases in the Bible where Jesus challenged people to go deeper in their faith, and what those mean to us today. Be looking for a pre-sales announcement in the coming weeks!