Pick the Brick
We sing a song in church, “Firm Foundation” by Cody Carnes, and I’m not sure why, but when we sang it recently, for the first time I thought of the story of the Three Little Pigs. In case you’ve forgotten, one pig built his house with straw and one built his house with sticks, but the third pig built his house with bricks. When the big bad wolf came, he blew down the straw house, then the stick house and those pigs both ran to the brick house. The wolf was sure he was having ham for dinner, but instead, when he blew on the third house, it stood firm. As the story goes, when he tried to come down through the chimney, he fell into a pot of boiling water and the pigs lived happily ever after.
When Dennis and I built our house, we had so many options; it was quite overwhelming. We were young and already over budget, but we decided one place we could not skimp was the foundation. Dennis had extra rebar put in the concrete and we went all brick, instead of a brick front with siding on the remaining walls. Thankfully, after almost 30 years, the house has withstood several hurricanes and hopefully will endure many more.
As believers, the bible tells us to also build our spiritual foundation on God. Matthew 7:24-27 “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” I really liked how The Message bible says it “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life…they are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock... but if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach.” Foundational words…that really stuck with me. Every word written, breathed out by the Creator of the World, is for me…to grasp hold of like a lifeline; they are instruction and basic-training for me to build a sustaining, foundational relationship with Jesus.
In order to have a firm foundation in Christ, we must apply what we read, hear and learn. As The Message said, God’s Word is not just a book to discuss at bible study. We have to earnestly read those words and discern how they benefit us. There is a big bad wolf in real life…his name is Satan and he is here to steal and kill and destroy. (John 10:10) We can claim all day long that we love the Lord, trust in Him, read the bible, etc. But the proof is in the pudding…is your ‘house’ built out of straw, sticks or brick?