Hearers and Doers

This passage is about two people who have heard Jesus and His message. The difference between them is that one did what He said, and the other did not. What is remarkable is that Jesus is not talking about those who do not know Him, but to those who do.

He tells us that when the storms come, it will separate the two. One person hears His word and is willing to dig down deep and build his life upon a solid foundation. He will be able to stand against the storms that come. The other person hears but does not want to apply the truth to his life. He is unwilling to do the hard work of building his life upon a solid foundation. He will not be able to withstand the storms that come his way. The consequences of their choices will be different. Both build houses, but Jesus says the test to see which one stands will be what they have built it upon, sand or rock.

It is easy to hear what God says, but hard to apply all of what He says to our lives. As someone who has built many projects, I have learnt that, to do it properly and to make sure it lasts, you need to do a lot of hard work. When building a house, you need to dig down deep, laying a solid foundation before you build upwards. The foundations are key to making sure the building will last and weather all kinds of conditions and storms.

In Hebrews 6:1, the writer tells us to leave the elementary principles of Christ and to go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. The writer is telling us to continue to grow, remembering what we have already heard and learnt, so we can mature and strengthen our relationship with God. When we do this, we learn to trust and rely on Him and whatever storms come our way, and we have the faith and assurance that He will be with us.

The question is, how do we build our lives to weather the storms? The answer is to dig, lay and build.

To dig is to search for God’s word and truth. We often hear people say, “I need to dig into the word of God to find what it actually means and how I can apply it to my life”. To lay is to acknowledge God in our life and begin to make changes in accordance with His word and truth. To build is to start to grow and mature, building upon the foundations of Jesus Christ that have been laid in our lives These three building processes may include being open to what the Holy Spirit is saying and to act upon it.

We may need to forgive those who have hurt us in the past and to receive God’s forgiveness for when we have wronged Him and others. We may need to repent of doing life our way and to then receive His healing, comfort and love. It is when we hear and act upon His guidance that we grow, mature and become strong in Him. When we do these things, we can weather the storms that come.

All of us have a choice - to hear what God says and to apply it into our lives, or to hear what He says and leave it. There will be different outcomes to our choice. The choice is ours.

Prayer: Father I pray that You would forgive me where I have been unwilling to follow Your ways. Often, I have heard Your word and have not done what You have asked me to do. I pray that I would listen and follow Your leading and apply Your truth in my life. I thank You for Your patience and grace as I learn to build upon the foundations that have already been laid. Help me to put my trust in You in all circumstances. Amen.