“The fear (awe and reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” Proverbs 9:10).

A couple of weeks ago I was inspired to write about how our staff had rallied around one of our own who is going through a rough patch. The Scripture that came to mind was about how we join together for mutual encouragement, support, and strength using the analogy of joining our individual “temples” together to build the church (Ephesians 2:19-22). Then last week, continuing a similar analogy, I wrote about the mansions we can look forward to in heaven (John 14:2-3). As so often happens, in my reading last week on wisdom, the Scripture referenced another building analogy, this time a house (Matthew 7:24-27):

 “Everyone then who (1) hears these words of mine and (2) 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.”

By the way, this passage is the final section of the three chapters that make up Jesus’ beloved Sermon on the Mount, which closes with this admonishment:  “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,  for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). In other words, Jesus knows what he is talking about; he is speaking the truth.

Jesus is comparing the wise (one who builds his house on a foundation of rock) with the foolish (one who builds his house on sand). Note that there is no in-between. In other words, if you are wise, then you are not foolish. If you are foolish, you are not wise. According to this parable, there are only two requirements to be wise: 1) to hear the Word, and 2) to do what the Word says. So, if we refuse to hear God’s Word (because we don’t read our Bibles or pay attention in church or participate in Bible study), or if we hear it but are not obedient to all the teaching, then we are foolish.

What is the result of being foolish? When hard times come, we fall/fail/give up/relapse/etc. Notice that we are not talking about a momentary slip which we recover from quickly using what we have learned from our discipleship process. We are talking about epic fails. The scripture says, “and great was the fall of it.” This is a fall that wreaks havoc, causes damage, seriously impacts others. It doesn’t mean we can’t rebuild, but it does mean that we must rebuild on the rock next time to be successful.

What is the result of wisely building on the rock? It means that when hard times come (and notice that being wise does not exempt you from hard times), you will be able to withstand temptation and stay strong.

The Rock. (Notice that the definite article “the” is used, not the indefinite “a” or “an.”) The Rock. Jesus said that our acknowledgement that Jesus is Christ, son of the living God, is The Rock on which the church is built. Jesus says that the greatest commandments are to Love God and to Love Others. He says that those who love him will demonstrate it by keeping his commandments. In other words, wisdom means obedience to the teachings of Jesus, which of course you can only know by reading your Bible, participating in Bible studies, and listening to your preacher in worship services. It’s simple; not easy, but it is simple. As so many of you have said to me, it’s making the next right decision, and being diligent day by day. The Apostle Paul reinforces the connection between Jesus as the rock in 1 Corinthians 10:3-4, which refers to Numbers 20:8-12 where the rock was the source of water for Israel when they were in the wilderness. (Don’t you just how the gospel is woven through every section of the Bible?)

I mentioned in the first paragraph that I had been reading on wisdom. Every year, I choose a word to focus my studies around. This year, the word is “wisdom.” This means that you may be hearing a lot from me this year on the topic of wisdom, beginning today.

My heart is full thinking about my great love for all of you, and this only recalls Jesus’ infinitely greater love for each of us. He asks nothing of us but our love and obedience, and he does nothing that is not for our good, in His impeccable timing. We can trust Him. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

In Christ,

Judy