There is a popular children’s story about three little pigs and a big bad wolf. Two of the pigs hastily built their houses; one of straw and the other of wood. But the third built a strong house on a solid foundation, made of brick. The wolf came along and easily blew down the house of straw and the house of wood, but he was unable to blow down the house of brick no matter how hard he tried. The illustration is this: the firmer the foundation, the stronger the house.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-27: “Therefore, 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.”
So, the obvious question follows: what is the rock on which we should build our lives?
The Bible often refers to God as the Rock. In Genesis 49:24, God is referred to as the Rock of Israel. At the end of his life, Moses is giving one final set of instructions to the people and he says the following, “I will proclaim the name of the LORD, oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect and all his way are just, A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Deuteronomy 31: 3-4
In the Psalms, the imagery of God as a Rock is often used. “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my delivered, My God, my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is upright, he is my Rock” Psalm 92:15
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the cornerstone. “You are…fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the LORD.” Ephesians 2:19-21
I Peter 2:6 puts it a little differently, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Is Jesus the cornerstone of your life?
Have you ever felt that you were sinking, your problems were just too great, and there was no place to turn? But there always is, and that place is Jesus. Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble, but as followers of Jesus we can take heart, for he has overcome the world. (John 16:33).
He can set our feet on a firm foundation: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalm 40:2. The Psalms also tell us that God is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:20) “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, through the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46:1-3
What type of a foundation are you laying for your life? Is your life built on the rock of God’s word and the cornerstone of Christ, or is your house at risk of being blown over by the Big Bad Wolf?
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible references are from the NIV, 1984