Foundation
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” (Luke 6:46-49 NLT)
Jesus spoke these words to people who prided themselves on being the race chosen by God and entrusted with his Word and his ways. They learned God’s Word from childhood, their calendar was formed by worship events, but their lives didn’t show it. In reality, it was the most knowledgeable of the Jewish religious leaders who were most determined to get rid of Jesus—the fulfillment of all their scriptures!
It’s amazing how we still assume knowledge makes everything better! We live in a culture where education and knowledge is seen as the key to success, and where success means advancement and more money. We idolize the unceasing development and enjoyment of new technologies, and we passionately seek a more comfortable life!
I enjoy and appreciate the benefits, the comforts, and the conveniences our knowledge has brought us. Still, as I think about my life and the lives of those who live around me, I wonder if we are using the wrong measurements for “success.” People are living with more stress and anxiety than ever. We no longer value character and integrity above popularity and appearance. We discard relationships like used paper plates and plastic dinner-ware.
Jesus never intended his teachings to be add-ons or accessories to our lives. Living life as a Christ-follower is pretty much an everything or nothing proposition. Is there an area of life and faith in which you’ve allowed religious knowledge to substitute for simple obedience and doing the truth? The truth is, it’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know that makes the difference.
Prayer:
Father, Thank you for the benefits of living in a knowledge-rich society. Help me not to value knowledge above truth. Thank you for your Word and your words and for making it clear to me that a foundation is established only by hearing and doing, never by knowledge alone. I recommit to daily living what I know to be the Truth. Amen.