…he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
How strong is the foundation of your life?
Jesus asked the same question to his audience back some 2,000 years ago. The conclusion of his spoken words is summarized in the above Scripture. When you study His remarks, statements, and stories, you obtain a short list of the important values of living which lead to a more productive, blessed, and fulfilling life.
Yet many people who poo-poo the Bible without ever reading the Book classify the sayings as old fashion, religious jumbo. Yet those who have digested its contents, and built their foundation of living upon the teachings and wisdom from the Book, can only smile.
You don’t need a college degree, nor even a high school education to gleam the values which a solid, successful life is built upon. The Book contains all the important lessons and tidbits of wisdom when put into practice leads to a life worth living even after all the worldly storms and ugly events dump on you each and every day.
Today’s media and advertisers influence people by emphasizing the outer form rather than the internal character of a person. Human nature wants to look good in the eyes of others. Therefore, we put on a show based on values of form rather than substance.
We put pictures on social media showing us having a great time as if our entire life was one big party. We drive a car which we cannot afford but it gives us the image we want to portray before others. We marry a trophy spouse rather than the one who brings joy into our heart because we are willing to sacrifice everything for them. We borrow funds to live beyond our means and then find ourselves in deep debt without the means to repay. We chase the good life without realizing what the good life truly looks like.
Jesus outlined throughout the Bible the good life. A life built upon the design of its Maker. When one aligns themselves with the Creator of the universe and builds their foundation on the same characteristics which Life originates from, one begins to truly experience and understand why substance is more important than form. However, God’s creation also reveals that form and substance go hand in hand. Without substance, form dissipates into oblivion.
Real lasting values which lead to the good life is patterned after the Creator of the universe. Study His creation and you learn how life successfully works.
Overly educated people have the tenancy to complicate matters by creating life models which seem doable until put into practice. When the abstract hits reality, and the formulas and assumptions fail, they cannot accept their error. But instead accuse others of improperly implementing their methods. However, when you ask the farmer or carpenter who works with their product each day, they can quickly tell you what is most productive and best for the long term. Their education is based on the practical, everyday reality of life.
When your life is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, reality comes to the foreground. The values He instructed and taught His disciples are the ones which are built upon the characteristics of the Triune God. When implemented, one begins to experience life without the fear of having the ground below their feet taken away. The values HE emphasizes are the ones which are true in every generation. They have been tried and proven over and over again. Others may poo-poo them as outdated. But hindsight teaches us why history repeats itself; us humans quickly forget the past and keep repeating the same stupid errors because the superficial values we accept today may look good on the outside, but under a microscope the internal substance lacks long lasting strength and sureness.
Bottom-line: seek and build your life upon values which have been proven over time to bring about the good life – everything else is shifting sand.
Rooting For You in Christ!
Dr. Mike
Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360!
Author of e-Books:
* Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
* Great Business Emulates a Good God
* Be Radical…Follow Christ!
* Simply The Messenger
* Unequally Married
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