Day 09 - Well-built sandcastles.

Build your house on the rock - Luke 6:46 - 7:35

This passage starts with a parable - building a life on a sandy foundation vs. a solid foundation. We're called to build our lives on the most solid foundation - Jesus. If we truly place all our trust in Him, when the storms come, our house won't fall. This doesn't mean our physical or earthly house, body, possessions. We are, in fact, promised that those things will fall away, that the world will destroy us, hurt us, war against us. That isn't the house that lasts, what lasts is our spiritual house, our soul, when we place everything - even our very lives - in Jesus' hands, He promises that He is watching out for us, that He has our best interests at heart. We don't know what that will look like, but we trust that He does know best and trust His promise that He'll never fail us or leaves us, and that He does love us. So we give Him our lives and our hearts and build on His solid rock.

Thinking and Questioning -

-As you reflect on the decisions you've made in your life up until now, on what foundations have you built your life?

That's been a shifting process my whole life, really. When I was younger I'd say my life was built on my parent's foundations. Since theirs are built on God, that was a good starting point. As I got older and began to really think through believing in Jesus for myself, rather than just accepting what my parents had always told me, my foundation changed. I think it got a bit sandier at that point because I didn't believe God loved me, so I couldn't build a life on Him. As I grew to understand, accept, and believe in God's love, I began to want to give my life to Him. But I've always struggled with worrying, with thinking about what others think, with wanting to be successful in some more earthly manner. Recently, though, Jesus has become my foundation. I still want to be successful, but in an entirely different way. I want to be successful by His standards, which are totally different from the world's. But I slip off that rock and lose bricks from my house so often as I'm tempted by the world's standards of success and happiness. How I want to live my life doesn't seem rational, logical, or financially sound. It isn't...according to the world. That will always be a struggle, but I think the key is giving our lives up 100%+ to Jesus, being utterly willing to do whatever He calls us to do, and accepting His forgiveness, love, and grace when we falter and fail.

-Jesus mentions floods and torrents as a metaphor for hardship, pain, and sudden disaster. Reflect on the was you've dealt with these storms in your life. how has God been faithful to keep your foundations firm?

There have definitely been some storms that knocked my foundation clean away. I guess that means my foundations weren't really built on God then. Many of last year's storms had me a bit shaky, but Jesus gave me the strength to keep trusting He had a plan and that His plan is good. I know I can't do it on my own strength, but I do really trust Him where I can't understand.

-The Words like security, firm, solid, and trustworthy come to mind when we think about our hope in Christ. Are there any ideas, words, or thoughts that come to mind when you think about Jesus as the foundation of your life?

Comfort. Friend. Father. Good. Love. Scary. Awesome. Powerful. Beautiful. Hard. Strong. Unknown. Adventure. Exciting.

-The parables that Jesus uses to illustrate principles of the kingdom seem simple on the surface, yet some people don't seem to get their meaning. Why do you think that is?

I think often people don't want to. They find it easier to believe in a wrathful God than a good God. They don't want to accept that Jesus loves them because then they have to give their lives to Him and build their lives on a new, sometimes difficult, but totally worth-it foundation. I think many people's minds and hearts are closed. But I know God wants everyone to know Him, and I know He loves everyone, so I know He does everything He can to show them His love and then let them make that decision for themselves. God wants our love, but He won't force us to love Him.

-As it relates to Christ's lordship, in what areas of your life does Jesus reign and in what areas is there a struggle for control?

In the past I've really struggled with my future, where I'm going and what I'm doing. Fearing to fail Him, afraid I won't do enough with my life. I have to give that fear up to Him, and He's helping me a lot! I'm not afraid of graduation or after-college anymore, God has shown me some things He wants me to do and mostly just helped me to become willing to do whatever He wants. The biggest struggle for control is over my family. There are just issues and fears and I can't give them up sometimes, I want to fix it all myself and become so overwhelmed with the fact that I can't and so afraid that fixing it isn't in God's plan. I just need to trust, trust that He knows best, and that He loves my family way more than I do, way more than I could ever imagine.