On the afternoon of June 18 dark clouds gathered and proceeded to drop buckets of rain and hail on our neighborhood. Our house caught a good share, rattling windows and damaging plants, with the roof feeling the brunt of the storm. Notice the size of the hail in the pics. The hail caused so much damage that we need to replace our roof. Fortunately our insurance company came through with the necessary payment, so we’ll have a tight, new, element-withstanding roof very soon.
Which got me thinking about storms and Jesus. Hail hammered our house and badly damaged our roof. But despite the storm, the foundation stood firm. There was never any concern that the foundation might have sustained damage. Our house is solid because the foundation is solid. The roof can be damaged more easily and fixed more easily. Damage to the foundation would be a much more difficult proposition.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:24-27 to build our house upon the Rock: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The words found in the Bible, including the words of Jesus, are the only solid foundation for life and the storms that inevitably arrive. Build upon it. No single regret of my life has ever come from following scripture. Your roof is important, but your foundation is critical. Choose the right one to build upon.
I’ve been reading through the Old Testament this summer. I’m struck by these verses from Isaiah (1:30 & 31), addressed to the people of Israel who had left the Lord for other gods. “You will be like a like a garden without water.”
