A Lesson From Two Builders
At the end of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasized three things in conclusion: (1) what sets some men apart from others, (2) what factors lead to success or failure in life, and (3) how each individual decides his or her destiny either for life eternal or eternal death.
“Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,” He said, “I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
In the Middle East, winter time is a rainy season. And when it rains, it pours. Sometimes the rain falls in great torrents, sweeping away not only the sandy soil from the rocky hills, but also the hovels built upon the sand. Cottages built of adobe (unburnt bricks dried in the sun), of which there were whole villages, often melted away before the rains and floods. But stone houses built upon rock have withstood the tempests for hundreds of years.
The two types of buildings and two types of builders stand for two kinds of mentalities. Therefore, this lesson is for us, since each one of us fits in either one or the other class.
On the one hand there are those who overlook the need to make provision in the interest of their future existence. Theirs is an easygoing way of life. Through their attitude they say: “Don’t worry about the future. There is no reason for fear. No need to take any special precaution. One day is like any other day. Don’t be influenced by religious fanatics. Our scientists say that everything will be all right. Take it easy and enjoy the good things of this life.”
This modern attitude toward life was foreseen nearly three thousand years ago by the prophets of God who described the conditions that would characterize the time of the end. The prophet Isaiah wrote that, in our days, we would face multitudes who would say through their lifestyle: “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die” anyway (chapter 22:13).
Many of these people may even profess a form of Christianity, but in their hearts they pray: “Thou [Lord] wilt not call [us] to account” (Psalm 10:13, RSV). Many may go so far as to doubt or even deny the existence of God; nevertheless, they are inexcusable because they refuse to make a thorough examination of the existing evidence and because they are afraid to accept God’s challenge: “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). These people devote their time and their means to their indulgences and rest their confidence upon illusions. In a spiritual sense, they are putting up their shanty houses on the sand.
On the other hand, however, there are some, not many, whose main concern is to build a solid spiritual house on the Rock of Ages. They put their confidence in realities. They want to have assurance at the top of their list of priorities. They are convinced that death, this natural death which no one can escape, is not the end of everything. For it is written: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this [cometh] the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
In most cases, these two classes of people can easily be distinguished from each other. “By their fruits ye shall know them,” Jesus stated (Matthew 7:20). External evidence such as our actions, our eating and drinking habits, our way of dressing, our appearance, our house in and out; show what kind of persons we are. The spiritual side of our lifestyle, however, reveals whose kingdom we are promoting consciously or unconsciously. If we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40), we are in the service of God and are building on the Rock. But if the love of the world occupies the first place in our heart and in our mind (1 John 2:15-17), we are in the service of Satan and are building on the sand.
The Sermon on the Mount is a challenge to each one of us, young and old, rich and poor, believers and unbelievers. When we read this sermon, we feel impressed by the Holy Spirit to decide where and how we are going to build - on the Rock of eternal realities or on the sand of temporary illusions. And, after we have made our choice, the thought remains in our conscious or subconscious mind that we must anticipate either a positive result (eternal life) or a negative consequence (eternal death), according to our choice.
It is to our advantage to take a closer look at the dangerous conditions that we may be fostering in our hearts: our presumption, our self-deception, our voluntary or involuntary ignorance, or anything that may be working against our eternal interests. There is no wisdom in allowing these “storms” to undermine our spiritual structure and seal our fate.
On a dangerous rock off the coast of Cornwall, SW England, there is a lighthouse, “the Eddystone Lighthouse” which was built in 1878-1882. The present structure is the fourth lighthouse at that site. The first, which had been built in 1696, did not stand long enough to tickle the vanity of the engineer who had built it. When he had brought his work to completion, he was so confident of its strength that he only wished he might be there in the fiercest storm that ever blew. However, when the anxiously awaited stormy season came, it did not bring the anticipated result. One day the engineer went off to the lighthouse to superintend some repair works, and there he was detained until a furious storm burst along the coast during the night. His terrified friends on the shore had a foreboding that the structure would not stand. As the day began to dawn, they turned their apprehensive eyes toward the perilous Eddystone rock to see if the building was still there. What a shock! All they could see in the distance was the bare rock. Not a vestige of the lighthouse had remained. Together with its self-confident builder it had been swept into the flood.
Like the builder of that lighthouse, and like the builders of mud huts on the sand, there are many of us who are building their hopes on the foundation of human ideas, ambitions, and illusions. Such builders are choosing their own destruction.
As the danger of self-deception is enveloping also the professed Christian world, it would be good for us to study the parable of the two servants (Matthew 24:46-51) and heed God’s warning: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5). “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Presumption is a very dangerous thing.
In Portugal there was a monastery on the top of a 300-foot cliff. Visitors to this building were strapped in a big wicker basket at the bottom of the cliff and then pulled by hand to the top with an old ragged rope. The ascent to the monastery was really dangerous. One day, when one of the visitors was about to step into the basket and return to the bottom of the rock, the condition of the rope caught his attention.
“How often,” he asked a monk, “do you get a new rope?”
“Whenever the old one breaks,” the monk replied.
You may say that the visitors to that monastery took foolish chances unnecessarily. Agreed. But we are not wiser than they were if we skid through life on a threadbare spiritual rope. Therefore, let us open our eyes and examine the “rope” of our religious experience. False confidence may lull our conscience to sleep for a while, but it will not save us.
We have read that the wise man built his house on the rock. Yes, wise men still build on the Rock of Ages, making the Word of God the foundation of their life, choosing the right building materials, and following the right architectural plan.
We see from Matthew 7:24, 25, that Christ is the foundation on which we must build if we want our spiritual building to stand. The apostle Paul wrote:
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).
We build on Christ by building on His word, which stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus said:
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).
“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31, 32).
By opening our heart to the work of the Holy Spirit, who, with our consent and cooperation, will guide us into all truth (John 16:13) and produce in our lives the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23); by making correct use of the talents that God has entrusted to us (Matthew 25:14-29); and by working to promote the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), we bring to the foundation imperishable materials (1 Corinthians 3:12, 13) which will stand the test of God’s purifying fires.
“Every person is the architect of his own character [and of his own destiny]. Every day the structure is going up. The word of God warns us to take heed how we build, to see that our building is founded upon the eternal Rock. The time is coming when our work will stand revealed just as it is.”1
“We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7), except the character that we have developed here on earth.
Alexander Humboldt, a German naturalist, wrote:
“Only that which we have wrought into our character during our lifetime can we take with us.”
In view of the two possibilities which are open before us, may God help us make the right choice, so that we (you and I) may not be left out when Jesus, at His coming, shall announce:
“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).