The Wise Builder
‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.’
(James 1:22)
Many people get disillusioned in life by saying: ‘God never came through for me’.
In many cases, they cry and complain about how ‘non-existent God has been in their lives’, while in reality the source of their disappointment is rooted in their unwillingness to practice the Word of God.
No one should expect positive and meaningful progress if they refuse to practice the Word of God. A person ,who never practices the Word of God, will constantly deceive himself/herself.
In the parable of the foolish and wise builder (Matthew 7: 24-27), 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.”
Notice that both builders faced the storm. Do not be fooled by anyone: ‘being a Christian does not represent an exemption from facing storms.’
Both builders faced the storm. However, one practiced the Words of Jesus and the other builder did not practice the Word of Jesus.
Notice as well that the Wise builder built his house before the storm arrived. This teaches us the importance of practicing the Word of God not only during times of crisis but also when there are no crises. When the wise builder built his house, there was no crisis. The storm found a house built on the Rock.
And this is the model upon which Jesus expects us to build our lives: ‘Jesus expects us to practice His Word before the storm.’
Though it is not forbidden to start practicing the Word during stormy moments, it is still better to have a solid foundation before the storm.
I say this because we have now entered a cycle of End times where global crises will ensue after one another. Recently the Iran-US- Middle East war has plunged the world into a petrol crisis where prices of commodities have skyrocketed. Yet, the Church of Iran and the rest of the global Church has not been raptured. We are all here on Earth facing the storm.
Soon, China will attack Taiwan and when such an event occurs, the world will be plunged into a ‘microchip crisis’ that will affect telecommunication, the internet and many technological sectors.
Storms can also take personal and lower forms such as an attack on various areas of our personal lives.
In all those scenarios, we must build our lives on the practice of Jesus Word.
The storm must find us on the solid Rock.