Foundations

Therefore, everyone who hears these word of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24).

A few months ago one of my neighbors came over and asked to take a look at my basement.

Years ago the previous owners of our home had had some waterproofing work done by a certain company and my neighbor was interested in seeing a sample of their work. His needs, however, went beyond waterproofing. He had known for some time that the basement wall in his home was bowing in. What was once a slight curvature had become a protrusion that needed to be addressed.

Fixing a foundation problem like this is expensive. Ignoring it can be catastrophic.

Experts in foundation repair advise us that problems with a home’s foundation are often indicated by relatively minor clues. A slope of the kitchen counter or floors, more than an inch over 20 feet or so, could suggest a problem. A door that sticks when it is shut or a crack in the drywall – these little things may be pointing to a deeper problem. They may be telling us to look beyond the floors and doors and walls to the condition of the foundation.

Our fear is this: if we look closely we may see something we’d rather not know. Fixing it may be difficult, but ignoring it will be disastrous. Every structure we see is built on some kind of foundation, and the soundness of the structure depends upon the soundness of that foundation. The part that is never is seen is the critical piece to the whole, holding it up and holding it together.

Every life you see is built on some kind of foundation. There are no exceptions. Every person you know and every stranger that walks by you in an airport or on the street is an engineer. Every one of us wakes up each day to an ongoing construction project called “life” and every one of us has chosen something upon which to build.

Jesus, a master teacher, concluded his Sermon on the Mount with a timeless word picture. Contrasting a foundation of rock with a foundation of sand, he invited us to consider the foundations of our lives. Upon what have we chosen to place the weight of our lives? Is the foundation solid, sound, worthy of the life we’ve been given?

Next Steps: Consider the following:
1. What have you chosen to bear the weight of your sense of well-being, your confidence that the life you’re building is strong?
2. And have you ever detected a small indication that the foundation may not be sound? What might these be in your life?

Prayer:
Grant us your wisdom, O God, as we seek to build our lives. With each day’s decisions and actions help us to build well. And give us courage to examine the ways in which we have placed the weight of our lives on something other than you, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.