Obey God—Build a Firm Foundation for Your Life
Last week I put together a resource page with a list of helpful scriptures encouraging us to obey God. I mentioned that I would further discuss obedience to God and how it’s like a sturdy foundation on which to build a house/building. That’s what I’d like to discuss today. We’ll see how the Bible compares our obedience to building on stable foundations. Additionally, we’ll look at some of the purposes for a good foundation.
Learning to obey God creates and builds a stable and firm foundation on which we can build our life. A sturdy foundation in our lives will also help us to withstand the storms that may come in our lives.
My family likes to watch the television show Survivor. This season on Survivor a cyclone hit the island on which they were staying forcing them to evacuate one evening. They returned to find that their shelter, which had been built on sand (important point), had been torn to shreds. You can imagine how disheartening this was for them. This scene immediately brought to mind the scriptures in the Bible that address building on different types of foundations.
Obedience vs. Disobedience–2 types of foundations
When we listen and obey, it’s like building a house on a solid, firm foundation. It can be trusted, unlike a house built on shifting sand or without a foundation. Disobedience is like building a house on an untrustworthy foundation.
“So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded over, and the wind blew hard against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded over, the wind blew hard against that house, and it fell. And what a terrible fall that was!” Matthew 7:24-29 (GNT)
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” Luke 6:46-49 (NLT)