I live on the sea, which means I’ve experienced how the ground changes beneath my feet when the tide comes in and sweeps the sand away from beneath me. When I am standing on sand, I sink as the water washes over my feet – burying my feet in the sand upon which I stood less than a split second before. But when I am standing on rock as the tide rushes in, I remain standing strong against it – safe from the shifting sand that disappears around it.
These uncertain times remind me of that. Spiritually speaking, those who have built their lives upon sand will sink or lose their balance, while those who have built their lives upon rock will not. The “sand” of which I speak are those things or actions not pleasing to God. In essence, it is living life in defiance of Jesus. The “rock” of which I speak is faith in Jesus, our Lord God, and obedience to God, our Heavenly Father.
We build our lives on sand or rock. We cannot build our lives on both. When we have faith in Jesus and when we obey Him, we build on solid ground. And when we build on solid ground, we are never alone, for Jesus will not desert us. Even when things happen that scare us or we don’t understand, faith in Jesus will keep us strong.
When we build our lives on solid ground, it is easier to recognize ungodly people. It is also easier to identify beliefs, actions or inactions that are displeasing to God – and to rectify our mistakes and not repeat them.
When we build our lives on solid ground, we become aware that there will be those among us who may sound religious, but who do not serve God or Jesus. People who claim to follow Jesus, but whose deeds anger God and who might otherwise lead us astray. People who’ve built their lives on sand – not solid ground.
Jesus said, “Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the definitive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven. At the Judgment many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.’ But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil.’”
“All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won’t collapse for it is built on rock.
“But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rain and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:21-27)
These can be scary times, but they don’t have to be. If you already believe in Jesus, you can pray for His help and guidance and He will answer you. You need not fear that He will abandon you; He has promised that He will not. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you can pray to Jesus that you find Him — and He will not turn you away. Jesus is loving and welcoming to all who seek Him, no matter who they are or what they may have done. He promises that if you look for Him and ask Him into your life, He will answer.
Spiritually speaking, Jesus is both the rock upon which we must stand and the nourishment we must seek. Especially in these hard times, it is comforting to know that we are not alone. Jesus is waiting for us to reach out to Him, if we haven’t already done so. He offers us divine love, guidance, protection, forgiveness, and eternal life. Anything else is only sand.
“Jesus replied, “I am the Bread of Life. No one coming to me will ever be hungry again. Those believing in me will never thirst. But the trouble is, as I have told you before, you haven’t believed even though you have seen me. But some will come to me – those the Father has given me – and I will never, never reject them. For I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the Last Day. For it is my Father’s will that everyone who sees his Son and believes on him should have eternal life – and that I should raise him at the Last Day.” (John 6:35-40)
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