24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
The Foolish Man
Jesus, thank you for the breakfast on Friday where I sat with my son and sang ‘Sandy Land’ and the ‘Foolish Man Built His House Upon The Sand’. I want to know how best to reach my children, but I know that my son likes song. So we sat at the breakfast table after I wrote this and we sang it through. I was reading about the Reflective-Contemplative model of spiritual formation for children. It said to ask them hard questions and let them figure things out. It also said to vary experiences for children to think over so that they grasp the deeper truths. I see so many children these days playing lots of games, but they do not grasp the deeper meaning of the gospel. I am concerned that we tell many children that they are good when in fact the Sermon on The Mount tells us that we are ‘evil’ (Mtt. 7:11).
Help me not to be foolish. Help us not to take short cuts to success, to serve ourselves first and others with what is left over. Help us to center our lives around what is important.
Questions
- Which words in particular is Jesus referencing?
- How would flash floods destroy houses?
- How would basing your life on false teaching lead to sudden destruction?
- What is the role of Jesus’ authority in this sermon?
- Have you bowed to Jesus’ authority?
Plymothian 