The chorus of the well-known hymn begins with the lyrics: “On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.” This is the topic the City Salt Blog Team wants to explore in the coming weeks. And what a timely topic this is, given the unrest in the world and in our own country. Where do we place our ultimate trust? Where do we stand? Where do we build our house, on shifting sands or solid rock? As Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27:
“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 the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it crashed with a great crash.”
Jesus says we are to both hear his words and put them into practice in order to have a firm foundation. But what were these words Jesus was referring to? Well, there were a lot! Starting in Matthew 5, Jesus begins his most famous Sermon on the Mount by turning the world on its head and revealing who is blessed (and by contrast, who is not.) Then he mentions many other topics:
Salt and light, the fulfillment of the law, murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, an eye for an eye, love for our enemies, giving to the needy, how to pray, how to fast, where our treasures are, do not worry, judging others, asking/seeking/knocking, the narrow and wide gates, true and false prophets, true and false disciples….and THEN he mentions the wise and foolish builders. Apparently there are a lot of words Jesus wants us to hear!
But in another Scripture passage, Jesus simplifies all this for us by responding to a teacher of the law who asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. In Mark 12:28-31, we read:
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this. ‘Hear o Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
If you look back at all those words Jesus spoke during or after the Sermon on the Mount, you can see that all these topics would be finer details stemming from the greatest commandments!
The point of all this is that if we want to build our house on a firm foundation (metaphorically speaking), we need to start by loving God, following him with all we’ve got, loving our neighbors (which means e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. (Look at the Good Samaritan story in Luke 10:25-37) and, last but not least, loving ourselves in a good and healthy way.
In many places right now, the world is on fire. We in the USA are not immune from the dangers of fire. In fact, we have our own version ablaze in politics, culture wars, religious beliefs, racism and all the other “-isms.”
Surely, we have to decide where we stand in these areas in accordance with our beliefs and convictions. But do we place all our confidence and energies in these outcomes? With American politics as an example, is the next elected president (whoever that may be) our true Savior? Will the world come to an end if So-and-So is elected? Or will that person solve all our problems and be our deep peace that is beyond all understanding, as the Bible says? No! To be good citizens involved in our democratic system, we should do our research, weigh the options and vote. But if that is our only hope, that’s like building our house on sand. God alone is the solid rock and our firm foundation. We can be “in the world” by participating in it, as Jesus indicated when he told the Pharisees to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). But we aren’t “of the world” in the sense that our home is truly with God and in his kingdom. That’s our deepest home!
This brings us back to the second half of Jesus’ admonition: putting his words into practice. In the political example mentioned above, this might mean showing respect for those who vote differently from you, no matter how strongly you disagree. How hard it is to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors, even more so our enemies! But if we believe him, he will make it possible and we will experience our home standing firm when the storms come.
About the Author
John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!