Building for the future

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27).

Nowadays, a lot of people have gutter guards on their homes. A gutter guard is designed to keep leaves and twigs from collecting in your gutters and eventually clogging the down spouts. Several years ago a young man lived in a house that was equipped with them. He didn’t give the gutters much thought until one day when he was walking in the yard after a heavy rain. As he passed by one of the down spouts, he noticed something lying in the grass nearby. It was the remains of a bird’s nest.

A few days later he was pulling into the driveway after work. Looking up, he saw birds going in and out of a hole in his gutter guard. He took out a ladder and climbed up for a closer look. Sure enough, the birds were building a nest in the gutter, a place that was up high and in the shade. Those birds had no idea of the disaster they were inviting. They did not realize that the next time a rainstorm came, all their work would be flushed into the down spout. All they were trying to do was build a safe and permanent home.

In this life, each of us wants to build a safe and permanent home. But like the birds, we often build in places that invite disaster. Some people build where there are mud slides, while others prefer living near shorelines where hurricanes threaten destruction. Some people build on top of old landfills; some even make their homes close to volcanoes! It is amazing how stubborn people can be—they are warned not to build in a certain place, but they do it anyway.

In the same way, people build their spiritual nests in places they never should. They think that a safe and permanent home can be created here on earth. For the Christian, such a home is found somewhere else—a different place that cannot be seen by human eyes. Although we live here on earth, we don’t think of it as home. We think like Abraham; Hebrews chapter 11 tells us, by faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents…because he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Speaking of God’s faithful people, Hebrews goes on to say: they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth…they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.

We are citizens in the kingdom of God. Our safe and permanent home is not found here on earth. Jesus walked this world for 33 years, yet He never considered it home; He said, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). When He was standing trial before the Roman governor, Jesus said my kingdom is from another place (John 18:36). Jesus always kept His focus on heaven, and He encouraged His followers to do the same: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

Jesus warned about building your life on the wrong foundation. Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

After the pouring rain, gushing floodwaters and howling wind, what will remain? That is the question that needs to be answered. The lessons of this world teach us something about our relationship with God. No one in their right mind would build a permanent house on sand. In the same way, why would anyone try to build a life that does not have the truth about God as its foundation? There are many opinions about who God is, what His priorities are, and how He interacts with mankind. But the truth can only be found in the Bible; all other opinions are distortions and lies. Yet astonishingly, we are quick to build on teachings not found in the Bible. We fail to see that we are building nests in the gutter.

Throughout the Christian life, there is constant tension between our everyday experiences and what we are looking forward to in heaven. The problems and pleasures of today have a tendency to overshadow what lies in the future. The issues that come up in our daily lives don’t seem to have anything to do with God, because our future with Him is somewhere off in the distance. You might find yourself wondering, “what does believing in Jesus and heaven have to do with the things I’m dealing with today?” There are times in your life when things aren’t very pleasant; it is tempting to think that faith in Christ doesn’t actually do you any good. We know that God has the power to make things better, yet many times He doesn’t. This kind of thinking leads some to conclude that God and Church are only a waste of time. When this happens, people start building on sand. They build their lives on misunderstandings, half-truths and outright lies about God. They think they know who God is, but they really don’t.

When God becomes less important, the future becomes less important too. When building a life on faith in God loses its appeal, building on shifting sand looks more and more reasonable. What kind of sand do people build on? Looks. Money. Education. Family. Career. Yet all these things are fleeting; a disaster can wash them away in moments. And when you die and stand before God’s judgment, how valuable will these things of sand prove to be? When You are facing the storm of God’s anger at your sins, a sandy foundation will be swept away; your life will end in ruin.

When God calls you to give an account of your life, you need a strong foundation to stand on. That foundation is Christ. With Jesus supporting you, God’s anger will not sweep you away and throw you into hell. If your life is built on Jesus, your sins are forgiven and God will be pleased to welcome you into heaven. So you need to build on the truth. You need to anchor your life in the Word of God. You need to think about the future and build accordingly.

I’m sure that you’ve heard the expression, “home is where the heart is.” We live in many places over the years, but not all of them are home. You might have lived in a dorm room or an apartment, but it didn’t feel like home. You might have moved to another city or state, but it didn’t feel like home. If you live some place that you don’t like, it can affect your attitude about nearly everything—how much you enjoy the food you eat, how you feel about the work you’re doing, your opinion of the people that surround you. All of us have experienced times of wishing that we were someplace else.

When we think about our relationship with Christ, we must realize how flawed by sin we are and how much we need Jesus in our lives. We need His forgiveness. We need His wisdom. We need His protection, strength and patience. We need a home that is safe and permanent, a home that our sins cannot mess up and cannot be ruined by anyone else. When we realize that life in this world will be tainted by sin until Christ returns, it changes our perspective on what is truly important. When our focus shifts to Jesus and heaven, the things of this world start to lose their attraction. Building for the future becomes more important than building for today.

We are just passing through this world as we travel to a much better place. Like Abraham and other people of faith, we are looking forward to a heavenly home—a home built on a foundation that will last forever. While we live in this world, we frame everything on that foundation, resisting the temptation to build on sand. We build on the eternal Rock of our salvation. That Rock is Christ, the Son of God who promises the end of sin and death, and a new life that can stand the test of time. The world around us can’t understand such things; building on promises of future glory seems foolish. But we know better. We have Jesus’ personal guarantee. By faith we can agree with Paul when he says, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

In Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells a parable that illustrates the importance of keeping your priorities straight. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, `Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, `Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

How can any of us think for one minute that a sand castle on a beach is in any way superior to a magnificent castle of carved stone built upon a large and majestic rock? As we find ourselves at the beginning of a New Year, it is a good time to evaluate where we are headed. Do you think that home is here, or are you on a pilgrimage that won’t end until you’ve arrived in heaven? Are you building on the Rock that will last forever? May God keep you from building your nest in a dangerous gutter.