House of the Wise

By David Butler

Matthew 7:24-27 [NIV]

 The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders

 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on a rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came done, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus told this parable, people would think about where to locate their house then start constructing. A couple thousand years later, most people buy a recently built one from a developer or buy a recently occupied one from the previous owner.

 After moving to the Cary area, I began looking to buy a house. I noticed that some of them were built on flood plains of nearby creeks. They looked safe to buy on a dry day but underneath the leaves or overgrown by lawns was the sand and silt left by prior floods. A warning for those who heeded it. During a tropical storm, the water rises out of the stream channel, onto the plain and ultimately into the house. A disaster to be avoided. Despite this, all the houses I looked at were sold.

 Jesus teaches us to listen to his words then change our minds and our actions so that we may become wise. This is the regular process of repentance with our church providing opportunities for the first part while the last part is our responsibility.

 There are sermons in person or online, church school lessons and bible study classes to learn more parables and stories that make you aware of the surrounding sand. But hearing the words is just the beginning, you must also make up your mind about the risky sand and the safer rocks and where you want to be. Concluding with the building of the foundation on rock so you may reside at the house of the wise.