As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.
Luke 6: 47- 49
As Jesus comes to the end of his sermon on the Mount, he makes it clear that his listeners shouldn’t leave thinking he’d given a grand speech for the sake of it. He talked about loving our enemies, giving and much more. As he shares the story of the two builders, Jesus is emphasising that hearing the sermon on the mount was not a listening exercise – there was more to do.
Those who put God’s word into practice are compared to a man who dug down deep to lay the foundation for his house. Digging down deep implies activity, work and effort. When the storm came, the time invested in this work paid off. The house was not shaken. It withstood the storm because it was well built.
On the other hand, the man who built his house without a foundation lost it all when the storm came. His house ‘collapsed and its destruction was complete’ (v49).
Jesus is clearly making a differentiation between those who hear the word and those who hear and do the word. The Apostle James makes a similar point later in his letter: Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1: 23-24). It is pointless to look in the mirror if we forget what we look like straightaway and it is unwise to hear God’s word and never respond to it.
Digging down deep to lay a good foundation takes time, and in a spiritual sense we are building a strong foundation every time we act on God’s word. It takes action and effort. For example, God asks us to forgive others as he has forgiven us. Each time we forgive we are hearing the word and putting into practice and, figurately, laying a foundation stone for a strong house. Also, part of laying a good foundation is excavation – this means digging out the soil to create the space to lay the brick. Maybe we need to dig out some unhealthy practices or things in our lives that are actually displacing the good stones and messing up your foundation.
Don’t underestimate what happens to your faith every time you do something that God has asked of you. You are adding to and strengthening the foundation of your faith so that it will not be shaken when the storm comes. It does not mean that we won’t feel the storms. Verse 48 says that the torrent struck the house, but ultimately it could not shake it.
Sometimes we can find it challenging to put God’s word into practice. In Romans 7, Paul describes the battle raging inside him: ‘For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out… but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing’ (v18-19). Thank God that there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and that the Holy Spirit is available to help us live out God’s will for our lives. And where we are struggling to put God’s word into practice, let’s try and develop habits that remind us of God’s word and what he wants us to do, and let’s surround ourselves with people who will encourage us in God’s way.
If you identify more with the foolish builder today, it’s not too late. As long as we’re alive, there’s always time to start again when it comes to putting God’s word into practice. Maybe it’s something you heard in a sermon or read during a quiet time. Maybe it’s something God has been asking you to do for a while. Try putting this in practice, knowing that you are building a strong foundation for your faith.
Regardless of how many years we have been a Christian we never stop building. There is always more to learn about God and more to put into practice. We are all a work in progress. As we do more and more of the things God asks of us, we become stronger, mature Christians who can stand the test of time.
A few chapters after this we read that Jesus’ mother and brother came to see him but couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. When told they were there, Jesus said, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Luke 8: 21). Not only are we wise for putting God’s word into practice but Jesus also calls us his family.
Pause: Imagine a plot of land with a huge hole already dug out for the foundation.
Reflect: Is there something you’ve heard recently from God that you can start to put into practice? As you begin to do this, and other things God has asked of you, see yourself adding a brick to your faith foundation and becoming a strong house that can’t be shaken.
Rise: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you obey God’s word and apply what you’ve heard.