“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matt 7:24-27)

At the conclusion of our Lord’s sermon on the mount, He summarized His teaching by using the example of two builders. We can learn from Jesus’ teaching that these two builders had some resemblances about them and certainly some differences.

Resemblance: Both of these builders heard the sayings of Christ Jesus. Both of these builders saw the necessity of building a house and as a result did build a house. And perhaps, both of these builders felt secure in the house that they had just built. But this is where the resemblances ended.

Differences: Jesus taught that these two builders differed in their personal character. One was wise and one was foolish. They also differed in their practice in that one heard the sayings of Jesus and did them, while the other heard them and did not do them. We can also see that they differed especially in the foundations on which they built; one on the rock and the other on the sand. Nothing can make up for a defective foundation. Their houses may have looked alike, but looks can be deceiving. In the end, the final results differed in that one stood (the rock), while the other fell (the sand).

May we all strive to make sure our lives are built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, so that we will never fall (2 Pet 1:5-11).

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