And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house…(Mathew 7:25,27 – ESV)
At the end of Jesus’ teaching, the “Sermon on the Mount”, as it is known, He talked about the implications of either doing or refusing His words. He painted a scenario where our lives are illustrated by two houses. One house stands and one falls, both the result of inclement weather. The meaning was clear, do His words and you will stand, don’t and you will fall.
However, let’s not be too quick to think we are done dealing with this. Consider well the fact that both houses had a storm. Yet one served to destroy the house and the other pointed out how secure the foundation was. The truth is that the vagaries of life are bound to happen to all people, they are an irresistible event, in that they will come, no matter any of our plans. However, we can be like the immovable object, our being grounded in Christ gives Him glory when the inevitable storms of life come our way.
Make no mistake, in this passage and woven into the whole fabric of the New Testament is the idea that the storms will come. We cannot simply name it and claim it so as to avoid them. No way, because that would not give God the glory He is due, it would only save you from suffering and serve to sever you from sanctification. Besides, does it give glory to God to have you gloat about being in His supposed favor, or will it give more glory to God for people to see you stand in the power of His might first (Ephesians 6:10), and also to testify.
Friends, it is about the power to withstand the storm, not the power to withdraw the storm. Christianity, from the sanctification side, is less about being an irresistible force, and more about being an immovable object.
What gives God more glory? Indeed, it is more worthy of the fellowship of the sufferings of our Lord (Philippians 1:29) to be able to withstand the storm, so others may give God glory too (Matthew 5:16). Then our words will resonate, having stood firm on the Solid Rock, to give voice to His glory as a personal witness. The winds and rain will fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), the question is, will your house stand as a testimony to the power of God, or will it fall to the frailties of a life lived without following God?
6 comments:
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need, mercy drops 'round us are falling, but for the showers we plead...
Indeed?
Yes, if we understand that all people will take a shower in the storms of life, and these showers show off how firm our foundation is...we may not like them, and that is okay, but we can endure them, and that is glorious...
For His Name
Great post as usual, JD. “…the power to withstand the storm, not the power to withdraw the storm.” That phrase jumped right out at me.
About the photograph, I feel kinda bad for whoever owns that house that is being torn apart by the wind and waves. But the shocking thing is that some fool was stationed nearby to take the picture! I think I would have had enough sense to be long gone, rather than hanging around with a camera. There are two ways adrenaline-junkie photographers get famous…
Hey, JD, just catching up. I read your post The Transcendent Measure and found myself seeing with different eyes. Perhaps the first time in a long while.
I've got more catching up to do but wanted you to know I'm still here. I have all next week off so I'm going to be posting again on a couple different subject. Oh, you might see Melissa and I tonight since we were not able to be there Sunday. Lord bless you brother.
thank you, liked this post. :)
"....will your house stand as a testimony to the power of God, or will it fall to the frailties of a life lived without following God?"
With God's grace....it will stand!
Spiritual security....
On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
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