How much do you love watching shows about redesigning a home? There are so many out there. The flipping houses shows, the shows where a couple finds a house in disarray and the construction guy and the designer get together and turn it into the couple’s dream home. I love it! But there’s one catch—design flaws can kill you.
What’s a design flaw you ask? If design is the process and art of planning and making detailed drawings of something and flaw is a mistake causing something to be less effective…then putting the two together means…it ain’t working right and it’s gonna break.
When constructing a building how does one make sure the building is going to stand not only the test of time but the elements around it? It’s the foundation, right? If the foundation is solid when storms come it will stand or hold firm. How solid is your foundation? How does one take on the challenge of laying the best foundation?
Let’s take a lesson from the story of The Three Little Pigs. Who won? Not the little pig who built his house of straw. You can’t really construct a good foundation and top it with a house of straw. I suspect a lazy little pig who didn’t want to work very hard thought he could get away with little to no work. The second little pig didn’t win either although he did work a little harder and produced a house of sticks. Not a very solid structure as it too blew down. Then comes the winner. The little pig who worked hard all day every day building a house not only of bricks but made sure the foundation would hold up the bricks. You see straw and sticks don’t need a strong foundation. Bricks on the other hand do. So when the wolf came along the third little pig overcame his attacks as he stood safe inside his brick house on his solid foundation.
Our scripture speaks to solid foundations. The wise versus the foolish builders. The wise man (a/k/a little pig #3) built his house on the rock. When the rain came down the streams naturally rose. The winds blew beating against the house. With all that it didn’t fall. Why? Because it had its foundation on the rock.
The foolish man (little pigs #1 and #2) never learned from the wise man because he built his house on sand. When the rains came and streams rose and the wind blew against the house, it fell with a great crash. No foundation. The sand never works in our favor as a solid foundation.
Where do we put our faith and security? Money? Popularity? Educational standing? None of these work well in the long run. Building a spiritual foundation is the answer. But how? If we do as the foolish man and the same storms come what then? Trouble is an equal opportunity employer. It’s not if it will come but when. When your ego becomes larger than your message you will most assuredly fall.
If we choose rock, we know it withstands anything.
If we choose sand, we also know it dissolves and falls.
What is the better alternative? We must make a choice—rock or sand.
There is no security in worldly objects. Being secure and being protected because of our faith is our true foundation. Putting our trust in Jesus’ love for us and knowing that nothing can separate us from God. That’s the foundation that holds.
When my husband and I built our house, we knew about the soil in Texas. Particularly about the soil in the area we chose to live in. Deep, dark-gray to black alkaline clays. These clays are called cracking clays. When the weather gets dry, they form deep cracks. The ground most likely will shrink and swell. This means that it can damage your foundation in a big way. We made sure our foundation was the best it could be. But we also knew we had to take care of it. We put in French drains. We made sure we had the best sprinkler system and keep it in good repair. We keep roots from plants and trees away from it. We also keep a few inches of mulch in our flower beds and around the foundation. It works in keeping a good foundation.
Our spiritual foundation needs care as well. Taking care to build on our foundation daily. Standing on solid ground.
Weathering the storms of life requires that solid foundation. Being the wise man and not the foolish man is always the way to go. Or you could always consider yourself the Little Pig who built his house of bricks on a solid foundation. I like that option also.
How’s your foundation? Have you checked it for cracks? Are you caring for it daily? Jesus reminds us: When we build on a firm foundation of Christ, we can withstand whatever comes our way.
And that’s what I learned in Church……see ya next time!
