Have you ever considered what goes into building a house?
According to industry estimates, an average-sized home contains approximately 20,000 nails! It is good to know that so many fasteners hold a house together!
But the reality is, if the person doing the nailing doesn’t know what they are doing, it could result in big problems! I mean, what if they drive them in only halfway? Or put them in the wrong spots? Or use too few? Well then, problems abound!
The idea of “house building” is not foreign to the Bible.
For Solomon said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1 ESV
And 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 NIV
And yet, in both instances, the idea of “building a house” is used to communicate a deeper meaning. That unless God is the foundation of our life and, in a sense, “builds” whatever matters to us, then all our labor is in vain. So, we must look to, and depend on Him for all things.
Now, the contemporary applications for this run deep and wide. But before we go there, let’s consider a little further the teaching of Solomon and Jesus. Regarding Solomon, Psalm 127 is considered a “Psalm of Ascent” – meaning that it was written with the Jewish pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem (God’s “house”) in mind. Such Psalms were then sung by Jews as they traveled up to Jerusalem for the great feasts in acknowledgement of their dependence on God for all things, including their worship.
As for Jesus’ teaching, He cautions against hearing His words, but not putting them into practice. For when someone does this, they reject Jesus, and the security He alone can give for this life, and the life to come. Such individuals show that they are depending on themselves, and not God. And when the “storms of life” come, their “house” falls “with a great crash”. For without God, they have no real foundation or strength.
So, both Solomon and Jesus are teaching about one’s deep need of God, and that human efforts alone are in vain. For unless He lays our “foundation” and “builds our houses”, we are utterly lost.
Okay, so back to some contemporary applications, by way of some questions.
Are you depending on God for your:
• Family?
• Finances?
• Health?
• Worship (yes, we need Him to draw us into proper worship)?
• Salvation?
Or are you laboring in vain?
Let’s let God build our house.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Rob