Mt 7:24-27 The Wise & Foolish Builders

The Wise & Foolish Builders

Matthew 7:24-27 "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."

After reading these words of Jesus when he was ending his sermon on the mount, I can't help but feel like I MUST follow the words of Jesus and his will for my life. Luke 6:46 says, "Why do you call me Lord Lord and do not do what I say?" This reminds me of all those people who claim to be followers of Christ but their lives have little or nothing to show for it. Jesus talks about a tree and its fruit right before this passage about a wise and foolish builder. Clearly we will know another believer by the fruit displayed in their life. Now of course, no one is going to be perfect and have it all together, but the desire to do God's will and seek after his plan and be obedient to him should be evident. Jesus is very clear when he says the foolish builder's house will collapse when the storms come. How could anybody think they will still have a successful godly life if they don't do what the Bible tells them to do?

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1 Peter 4:7-8

1 Peter 4:7-8 "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

In this passage we are told to do, or be, three things. 1) Be clear minded: be wise, make clear decisions, don't be wishy-washy, be clearly defined as Christians. 2) Be self-controlled: nothing about us should be extreme or out of control. Our emotions and attitude should be in check, and obviously any anger or bitterness should be out of our lives. Everything we say should be thought through and pleasing to God. We should be filling our minds with godly good things, so our hearts may overflow into our mouths and what we say and do. 3) Love each other deeply: love with that unconditional love that forgives over and over again. Love as Jesus loved. Peter gives us specific reasons for these life-style character traits. 1) So you can pray: If we aren't clear minded and self-controlled, how will we even remember to pray? It is easy to become wrapped up in our daily schedules and the busyness of life, not to mention wrapped up in our own selfish motives and emotions. If we are not clear minded and self-controlled, our prayer life will not be growing and effective. As well, Peter teaches that our prayers will be hindered because of certain bad behaviors. Specifically going back to verse 3:7 where he's speaking to husbands about the husband-wife relationship. We are to love each other deeply 2) because love covers a multitude of sins: Our relationships with people do not last if we do not love them with this kind of love. We fail each other over and over. We need to give and receive this kind of love. I think specifically of a marriage relationship. If we are not implementing these attributes of having a clear mind and being self-controlled, how can we ask God to help us love like this? He requires a husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church. This is really impossible without God's strength and intervention.