Foundation

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

FOUNDATION

Luke 6:46-49

46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." 

NIV

We do need to remember he is talking to his disciples, which included the twelve he had designated apostles. He was with a large crowd of disciples or followers as he said all the words we have been going through. Putting the words of Jesus into practice is his point here. Yet he uses an example of what that looks like compared to one who may hear his words but does not put them into practice. The idea is a simple one. What do we base our life on? What do we use as our moral compass? When the struggles of life come, and they will, how do we respond? If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, and call him Lord, in truth, then we will be able to withstand any adversity. But first we must know that calling him Lord means we actually mean he is the Lord of us. He has complete authority over our life, which then means we do not have any authority over our own life. Once we make the choice, the decision to follow Jesus, we give him that authority and start the foundation upon which our life is built. We read and study his words listening to the Spirit lead us into the truth and we make every effort to live by those principles Jesus teaches us. Do we fail? It seems obvious we do. But the fact is we do have the correct foundation and therefor ultimately our life will stand, it will not crumble under hardship or adversity for we can rely on our foundation being strong, being true. Being a doer of what Jesus says, is not a list we can check off, done that, done this, doing that, doing this or starting on that. Being a doer of his words is a lifestyle of trusting him completely, believing in him with our whole being, and sensing his presence in our life. It also does mean we make it our goal to live in accordance with the pattern he set for us, a life of actions and reactions based on love. Love for our Lord, love for ourselves and love for our neighbors and yes even our enemies, those who either dislike or hate us because of our faith in Jesus. If we use his words as the foundation of our life, it will certainly look like it.