Jesus, Our Firm Foundation

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. —Luke 6:47–49

I recently cut several trees down in my backyard in hopes of preparing a place for my girls to play. I began to saw the stumps close to the ground so they could be ground into woodchips.

As I began to saw the largest tree stump, which was about two and a half feet in diameter, I noticed something different from the other stumps. It was hollow inside. It only took a couple of minutes to saw through it and I realized there was only about a two inch wall of wood around the outside of the stump. The rest of the stump had been eaten by bugs and turned into sawdust.

I’m glad I cut that tree down. The largest tree in my yard, which was very close to my house, was being held up by a weak stump. A strong wind could have come through and knocked it down – right on my house!
That made me think of a Bible verse in Luke 6. Jesus was preaching to several people about trusting in Him as their firm foundation in life. He mentioned two types of builders: one who built his house on solid rock and one who didn’t use any foundation. The builder who used a strong foundation outlasted the storm and flood and his house was saved. The builder who neglected to use a foundation lost everything.
Why have a firm foundation? Foundations are the supporting structure of the house. The foundation of a house must be stable and well built for the rest of the house to be safe and steady. The foundation of a roadway must be carefully prepared so that the road will not crack, crumble and fall apart. The foundation of a tree must be solid to support the weight of the entire tree.
Likewise, a person must have a firm foundation on which to construct his life. In order for you to outlast the storms and floods of this life, your foundation for living must be built on solid bedrock of Jesus Christ. Salvation through Christ is the start of your Christian building. Jesus is the solid bedrock that you are going to build your house on.
What has been your foundation in life? Money, work, possessions, other people? While those are good, they will never give you the strong, bedrock support like Jesus can. It doesn’t matter how much you decorate your house. If your foundation isn’t strong, it will fall apart.
There’s an old song that says: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ Name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
I encourage you to trust Jesus as you Savior and build your life on Him – the true Solid Rock and Firm Foundation.