A Solid Foundation

[Jesus said] “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.” (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV).

 

The Great Galveston Storm came ashore the night of Sept 8, 1900, with an estimated strength of a Category 4. It remains the deadliest natural disaster and the worst hurricane in U.S. history. From 6,000 to 12,000 people died on Galveston Island and the mainland. Texas' most advanced city was nearly destroyed. Survivors wrote of wind that sounded "like a thousand little devils shrieking and whistling," of 6-foot waves coming down Broadway Avenue, of a grand piano riding the crest of one, of slate shingles turned into whirling saw blades, and of streetcar tracks becoming waterborne battering rams that tore apart houses. “The animals tried to swim to safety and the frightened squawking chickens were roosting everywhere they could get above the water," Pauls remembered. "People from homes already demolished were beginning to drift into our house, which still stood starkly against the increasing fury of the wind and water."

 

It was indeed a terrible storm. However, I was living on the island when Hurricane Carla struck. It ranks in the top five most destructive storms to hit the United States. Yet, the destruction and death toll, while terrible, was nothing compared to the 1900 Storm. The difference was in the construction techniques employed in those intervening years. With just the seawall on the gulf-side of the island untold destruction was averted.

 

That is the background for our reading today as Jesus gives some building advice for our lives. He is talking about building our lives and making sure their foundation is firm, made up of wisdom and faith in him. This foundation requires two things. It first involves listening to Jesus’ words. Listening is ­really important and can be hard to do. Listening often means putting aside our own ideas or agendas and paying ­attention for a while.

But listening is only the first step in the foundation of our faith lives. The next step is doing what he asks of us. If we only listen and don’t do what is asked, we haven’t really accomplished anything. Our faith can be filled with knowledge and belief, but if it isn’t tied to action, it rings hollow. Make sure you’re the house of your life is built on the foundation of faith. That is the way of life Jesus is calling us to.