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ARTICLE: STORMS ARE DEFINITELY COMING!
By Nick Howes
One thing is for sure – its gonna rain and storms will come. Life has its fantastic moments and its peaceful times, but always there are great challenges that come along as well.
Jesus had lots to say about all this!
He talked about two kinds of person – one was wise and built their house upon the rock, the other was very foolish and built their house on sand. Of course this would have made his listeners laugh out loud. What kind of stupid person would build a house on the sand? Even the most ignorant person knows that the last place to build is on sand. It moves, it gives, it gets blown about and washed away and that’s not the kind of foundation anyone wants to live on!
I have heard this story many, many times since I was a child and for years I misunderstood its real and very clear meaning. You see, I always thought that the foolish person who built their house on the sand was someone who didn’t believe in Jesus – someone who wasn’t ‘a Christian’ – and that the wise builder was someone who did, or was!
That’s not what Jesus said:
“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. 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. 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 down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 (TNIV)
According to Jesus, both the wise and the foolish people heard his teaching. They were both present to hear what he had to say. They might both have nodded approvingly at his wisdom and perhaps even applauded enthusiastically when he finished. Maybe both went home and recounted to their friends and family the story of this incredible man called Jesus who did many wonderful miracles and delivered the kind of authoritative teaching they had never heard the like of before.
What they also have in common, this wise person and this foolish person, is that their houses were subject to the same rain and winds that beat against them both. One thing is for sure – the rain and winds will come.
So what made the wise man wise and the foolish man foolish?
It was, said Jesus, whether or not they put the things that they heard him say into practice in their lives. Did they deeply consider the things that he said and change their attitudes, their thinking and their behaviour accordingly?
This begins to get right at the heart of the message of Jesus. This kingdom of God that he spoke about so much is a very practical thing. When Jesus called his disciples, he didn’t initially say “believe in me” but rather “come follow me”. Of course we are to believe in who Jesus is, and in the things that he says. This faith, however, is not to be something that we lock away in the library of our brains filed under ‘religion’. It is meant to affect everything that we think and everything we do.
Back to the wise and foolish builders again. This short analogy was used at the end of what we call ‘The Sermon on the Mount’, which covers Matthew’s gospel chapters five through to seven, recording some of Jesus’ most well-known teaching.
Jesus was saying that if we do put his teaching into practice then we will be able to withstand whatever storm life brings. Experiencing a storm from within a brick house with double-glazing and watertight roof is very different from being in an old tent in the middle of an open field and everything is moving! How firm and secure do you feel when life’s storms are raging? How about when money is tight, when health is threatened or when you become the subject of unkind jokes at work? What affect does political upheaval, economic downturn or even bad British weather (!) have on your peace and joy? Jesus says that when our lives are built on putting his words into practice, the house stands firm, completely unmoved – buffeted, certainly, but not moved – peaceful and secure.
What then are the kinds of things that Jesus has just spoken about that we should take note of? Certainly we could write pages and pages (well actually books and books!) on what Jesus said in these three chapters. Here though are a few snippets: Don't even swear, ‘By my head!’ for you can't turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won't.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong. 5:36-37
If you are ordered to court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, * carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow. 5:40-42
But I say, love your enemies! * Pray for those who persecute you! 5:44
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. 6:14
“Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 6:19-20
“So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing?.Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. 6:25, 32-33
“Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. * Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. 7:1-2
“Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. 6:12
Incredible words! What is amazing is that these are not deep and complex statements but simple expressions of what it means to live like Jesus, that is ‘to follow him’. In fact, this whole section of teaching began with what are known as ‘The Beatitudes’ – eight statements by Jesus about how to live in such a way that God loves to bless. We find these in Matthew 5:2-10. They teach us to live aware of our need for God and to allow him to bring his comfort deep within us, to be humble and genuine, to care deeply about what’s right and just, to be merciful to others, to have pure hearts for God, to seek to bring peace wherever we can, and to be steadfast in our faith in God even when that turns people against us.
As we put these things into practice we are building on solid rock and our lives will stand strong and secure forever, no matter what storms come our way. You’ll notice that these teachings of Jesus really cut to the heart of our day to day lives. We are challenged on how we react to those we don’t like, or are even actively against us. Will we simply hear Jesus words to be merciful, even obliging, when people treat us unjustly or will be seek to justify ourselves and right where we feel wronged? Do we still reserve the right to judge others or to harbour offence? How radical and far-reaching dare we be in doing for others what we’d like them to do for us? What about money, wealth and possessions? Is our treasure still partly in these things or solely in heaven? Do we really seek first the kingdom of God, or is a close second ok, maybe even third (at least its top five!)?
The incredible story borne out by followers of Jesus throughout history is that He really is enough! In extreme cases they have been burnt at the stake for refusing to renounce their faith and, to the amazement of the crowds, died singing praises to God. Their house stood firm. Others have wholly trusted God through the uncertainty of being made redundant or when diagnosed with cancer. Their house stood firm. Many throughout the world face intense persecution and great personal hardship to follow Christ. Incredible acts of forgiveness and reconciliation, of showing mercy and seeking justice for the oppressed have demonstrated the truth of Jesus’ teaching through the ages. Conversely, its entirely possible to ‘believe’ all the right things, be seen in all the right places and make a good outward show of being very ‘Christian’ and yet see it all come crashing down when life’s storms rage.
The last thing Jesus is teaching here is that we should become distanced and desensitised from life’s challenging circumstances that both ourselves and others face – in fact the very opposite is true. His desire is that we are able to stand firm and demonstrate the incredible power of God’s love to others in the midst of even the fiercest storm.
So let’s consider again the words of Jesus and make sure that we are not deceiving ourselves and robbing those around us from seeing God’s greatness in action as in all kinds of ways the rain falls and the winds blows in our lives and theirs!
You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matt 5:14-16
Though the rain comes down, the streams rise, and the winds blow and beat against this house; yet it will not fall, because it has its foundation on the rock of not simply hearing Jesus’ words, but putting them into practice!
All Bible quotations taken from the New Living Translation unless otherwise stated. |
