Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. Matthew 7:24-27

 

Nothing shows you quite how temporary a material possession is… like having small children around! Sometimes it can feel like our children are drawn to our most precious and prized possessions. Inevitably, many end up cracked, stained, or broken after unsteady little hands have handled them. One mom was holding a brand new, beautiful pottery bowl when her son’s tennis ball flew through the air, shattering it. Torn between laughing and crying, she concluded, “This is why we can’t have nice things!”

 

We need to be reminded that almost everything in this life is temporary. But that doesn’t mean our actions don’t matter! It just means that possessions matter little, and people matter profoundly. Acquiring things we can’t take with us after death is foolish when God promises forever rewards to those who give generously now.

 

How do we build lives that are made to last? God says that choosing to live His way is like building on solid rock rather than the sandy foundation of our own ways. Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7: 24-27).

 

If we live in obedience to God, it’s God who is our stable foundation! And that foundation won’t last just for this lifetime, but forever.