Last night, we wrapped up our study of Jesus' famous "sermon on the plain" (Luke 6:20-49). Jesus talks about some pretty radical ideas in the sermon... i.e. blessed are the poor and the hungry, rejoice in rejection and exclusion, love your enemies, give to everyone that asks you, take the plank out of your own eye before pointing out the speck in your brother's eye, etc. It's good stuff and ideas that we should all be taking to heart and applying in our everyday lives! Easier said than done, of course.
Jesus wraps up this epic sermon with a parable about the wise and foolish builders. Give it a read if you're not familiar:
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."
As you may or may not know, my last job was at an engineering firm, working under a contract with FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program. So, naturally, it was difficult not to throw out some nerdy engineer talk while we were discussing this passage. ;) This parable is cool because it provides such a vivid image, and in terms to which I can very easily relate. So what's different about these 2 builders? They both built a house next to a river and they were both hit by the flood. They both put in some major work to construct a house, but the wise builder put in even MORE work. He planned, thought things through, and prepared for the worst. He built his house with a large factor of safety, well within the building code requirements, and probably bought a hefty flood insurance policy! (haha, sorry) When the flood came, the house with deep foundations reaching down to solid rock was unshaken, while the other house met utter destruction!
So what does it mean to build your house on the rock? Well, right at the beginning of the parable, Jesus tells us. The wise builder is he who comes to Jesus, hears his words, and ACTS on them. It's cool that Jesus puts this parable at the very end of his sermon.... seeming to say, "Alright, you've heard everything that I just told you, now go and do it! Then your foundations will be deep and your house will withstand whatever crap that is sure to come in the future. Although I've heard this parable many times, I've always seemed to miss the emphasis on physical action. Your foundation won't withstand the flood if you simply come to Jesus and hear his commands; your life with be left in complete ruin. Only if you live a life of action, following Jesus' radical commands, will your faith, relationships and life stand a chance against the hardship that is guaranteed to come in this world!
Our staff then challenged us to look back through the entire sermon on the plain and pull out a few things that we feel God is calling us to act on. Here are the 3 that came to my mind: 1 - live simply and get comfortable in poverty 2 - let go of your pride and accept criticism with joy, knowing your reward is great 3 - do not be a judgmental hypocrite, but love with humility, knowing God has done the same for you.
I'm so thankful to have this time in the SP internship to really grow and develop in my faith. I'm excited to continue to work on digging deep foundations. I know the flood will come, sooner or later, whether I work in a cube or live in an international slum. I will become a woman of action because I want to survive the flood!
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