When I was in Grade 4, we went on field trip to a bird watching park. I’ll be honest: I remember barely anything about the park or the birds except for one thing. Towards the end of the trip, one of my friends went out into a field. It must have been super rainy the day before because that field was muddy. So muddy that my friend’s feet actually sank into the mud.
That’s when another of my friends decided to be a hero and went into the field to save him, only to get his feet stuck in the mud too! I guess this is when our teacher noticed something was wrong, so she went into the field. She was able to free my two classmates, but not before getting stuck in the mud herself. I have no idea how she eventually freed herself, but I do know we all avoided any kind of mud for the rest of the trip.
It’s funny because when we looked out into that field, it didn’t look like it would try to drag us deep into the earth! It looked like a regular old field. My friends wouldn’t have run out there if the ground didn’t look sturdy.
But looks can be deceiving. Ground can look great when the sun is shining and the grass is green, but often we don’t realize the danger until the rains come. That’s when backyards get flooded, fields get muddy, and foundations start to fail.
Jesus told a parable about this, but SPOILER ALERT, He wasn’t actually all that concerned with giving people construction advice. Yeah, He talked about building houses, but His point was that the truths and ideas we build our life on need to be strong and secure. Otherwise, we’ll sink into the mud like my friends.
So let’s take a look at this parable. My version is a little bit longer than Jesus’s, but it makes the same point as His.
There were two brothers named Jim and Steve. Jim and Steve had lived together practically all their lives. They shared a room growing up, and when they went off to college, they even rented an apartment together for a while.
But Jim and Steve were about as different from each other as you can imagine. Jim was all about enjoying life. He loved to hang out with his friends and have a good time. You could often find him on a summer afternoon playing a game of soccer, relaxing at the beach, or throwing a party for the neighbours. But Steve – Steve knew there was more to life than games and partying and relaxing. He worked long, hard days, and though he would take time to relax with his friends and his family, Steve always made sure he got his work done.
After many, many years, the two brothers decided it was time they each find new places to live. Jim was finding their old apartment too small for all the parties he wanted to hold, and Steve was getting married in a few months, so it was time to find a place where he and his wife-to-be, Linda, could live comfortably.
So they went on the house hunt. They went all over town, but neither of them could find a place they wanted to live. After a week of looking, they both came home dejected and without new homes. Finally, Jim said to his brother, “This is ridiculous! You can’t find a house, I can’t find a house. What does a guy have to do – build his own house?!?!?!?!”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Steve replied, “In fact, I saw this beautiful lot up the hill that would be perfect for building!”
“Up on the hill!” Jim cried. “Why would you want to build up there? The ground is solid rock!”
Steve shrugged. “Rock is strong,” he said.
“But you’re about to start a family!” Jim said, “You want your kids growing up around rocks? If I were you, I’d build on the beach!”
“The beach?”
“Yeah, the beach is great. There’s tons of room to move and build sandcastles. And you and your wife could wake up every morning to a beautiful sunrise over the lake!”
“That does sound kinda nice…” Steve said, smiling, “but I just don’t think it’s smart. Besides, we’d have a great view from the top of the hill!”
“But think of the parties!” Jim groaned.
“Parties?”
“Yeah! Beach volleyball, BBQ’s, frisbee in the lake. Your place would be the greatest social hub for miles in any direction.”
“Parties have always been more your scene, Jim,” Steve replied.
“Well, then maybe I should build my house on the beach!”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good…”
“Too late, brother,” Jim said, eyes shining. “You snooze, you lose. Build your house on the rocks! I’m gonna build my place on the sand!” And before Steve could say anything else, Jim was rushing off to the lumberyard to pick up supplies.
The next few months were insanely busy as the two brothers designed and built their dream homes. Jim’s beach house was a monster of a place. It was this tall two story house with a loft overlooking the main floor. He put windows all over the house so no matter where people were, they could see the beautiful beach. It was gorgeous, a mini-mansion, and Jim had a massive party to celebrate when his house was finished.
As for Steve, his house was far more practical. It was a one-story home with a beautiful kitchen and large rec room for his future kids to play in. While there weren’t any beaches, Steve’s house was built firmly on the rock of the hill. It was no place for massive beach parties, but Steve was still proud of his home.
Some time passed. Jim’s house quickly became THE place to be to have a good time. Steve and Linda settled into their new home, away from the hustle and bustle of the beach. They would visit Jim every once and a while, but usually on the nights Jim hadn’t invited half the city over for a party.
On one such night, Steve looked out one of Jim’s massive windows towards his house on the hill and saw that the sky was looking pretty nasty. There were some dark, scary-looking clouds moving in – the kind of clouds that looked like they were going to dump an ocean’s worth of rain on the earth.
“Jim, you seeing this?” Steve asked.
Jim looked up from the fridge where he was grabbing a drink. “The clouds?” he responded. “Yeah, they’ve been working there way here all day. You think it’s going to storm?”
“Probably.”
“Oh, this’ll be awesome!” Jim cried. “You remember how much I loved watching storms as a kid? The thunder, the lightning, the power!!”
“I remember,” Steve said quietly.
“What’s wrong, Steve?” Jim said, concerned. “We used to watch storms together all the time, but you were never scared. What gives?”
Steve paused for a moment and looked at Linda. She knew what was worrying him and simply nodded. “Jim,” Steve said, “Why don’t you come back to our place for the night?”
“What? Why?”
“Well,” Steve said, fiddling with the bottom button of his shift, “This storm looks like it’s going to be pretty nasty, and your house here isn’t the most… stable…”
Jim groaned. “Oh, not this again!”
“Jim, I’m only…”
“I don’t want to hear it, Steve! You always try to ruin my fun. This is gonna be the storm of the century, and I’ve got front row seats for it!”
“But the sand…” Steve tried again.
“The sand isn’t going anywhere, and neither I am!” Jim said firmly. “You can toddle off home to your house in the hills, but I’m going to enjoy myself tonight.”
Steve looked at Linda and shook his head. There was nothing they could do but go and pray Jim would come to his senses. But with the clouds looking darker and darker, Steve and Linda rushed home.
They weren’t even home a minute before they started hearing the rain start to fall. It was only a few drops at first, but within a few minutes, it was pouring. Rain crashed against their windows and pelted their roof. It poured and poured and poured, but because Steve had built his house on the rock, that house stood firm. It wasn’t going anywhere.
It took another few minutes to reach Jim’s place. He settled into his cozy chair, grumbling that Steve didn’t know what he was talking about, and waited. Soon, the rain began falling on his house too. A few drops at first, then harder and harder until it was pelting down on Jim’s place as hard as it was at Steve’s.
At first, Jim loved it. The power of the rain excited him. But then he looked out the window and saw the waves on the beach. They were growing big and powerful. Then he heard a crash. A bowl had somehow slid off a counter.
That’s weird. Jim thought. That bowl wasn’t anywhere near a counter edge. But then Jim saw lots of things on his counter were sliding. It was like one side of the house was sinking and now everything was slanted! That’s when Jim heard a crack behind him. One of the walls behind him was starting to split in two.
Jim wasn’t enjoying the storm anymore. Now he was just plain scared. He rushed to the front door, shoving it open because of how strong the wind was. He knew going out into this storm wasn’t safe, but staying in the house wasn’t any better!
Why didn’t I just listen to Steve! Jim thought. He rushed into the pouring rain, no idea what he was going to do… and was shocked to see a car in his driveway. The car flashed its lights. Jim ran towards it and saw Steve sitting in the front.
Steve quickly rolled the window down. “Get in,” he yelled, and Jim didn’t argue. He whipped open the passenger door, slid into the car, and slammed the door shut. Steve then carefully started the drive to his house on the hill.
“Thanks for coming back,” Jim said quietly.
“Anytime,” Steve replied.
Jim looked out the back window as they drove away. He watched his beach house slowly sink and split all over the place. One side of the house just plain collapsed. Thanks to Steve, Jim was safe. But his house… Well, Jim ended up crashing in Steve’s guest bedroom for a few months while Jim found a new place to live. And when he did, he made sure his new place wasn’t built on sand.
You know, sometimes we get really excited about ideas that aren’t wise. They might sound fun and exciting at first, but after we follow through with them, we realize those ideas were unsafe or just plain wrong.
When Jesus told this parable, He had just finished a really long sermon where He shared with His disciples and a whole bunch of other people how they should live. That’s when He said, “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” (Matthew 7:24-25 NLT).
Like Steve, when we build our lives on the truth of God, we will be able to stand firm against any storms that life throws at us. We will know what is true and won’t be deceived by lies. But Jesus continued, “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 like a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:26-27).
There are all kinds of people in this world who will tell you things that they say are right. And some of those things will sound good. But just because the ground looks secure doesn’t mean you can’t get stuck in the mud. Just because something sounds good doesn’t mean it is.
We are to build our lives on what is true, and what is true is Jesus. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). His teachings can be difficult to understand sometimes, and we may not always follow them perfectly, but when we build our lives on God’s truth, we will stand firm through any storm.
~Brentagious
