Since 2020, more than 31 ocean front houses have fallen into the Atlantic Ocean in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore area in North Carolina. These beautiful beach cottages had stood in place for decades, built when the coastline was many blocks away and the strong dunes covered in protective woven sea grasses and oats blocked the water from eroding the shoreline. But time and tide slowly encroached and one by one, each stilted house fell off its water-worn pilings and drifted away into the ocean. Coastal erosion, shifting barrier island sand, and rapid sea-level rise all contributed to the problem. The scenes were tragic, as Outer Bankers scrambled to save their neighbors’ homes with sand bag upon sand bag, and then attempted to save their neighbors’ possessions by carrying pictures, lamps, and scrapbooks down rickety ladders that were perched under the windows of the walls of the house. 

Jesus’ words in in Luke 6:48-49 warn of the devastation that can happen when the foundation of our faith is weak and unstable, unable to withstand the floodwaters of our secular society because we didn’t heed his words and put them into practice.

Luke 6 (Common English Bible)

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say? ⁴⁷ I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice. ⁴⁸ It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.”

Jesus is blunt in his statement: Why do you call me Lord and then don’t do what I say? Why, indeed! His story about the two houses and what actually lay beneath each one is striking. From the outside, these houses looked alike. But one was built on a firm foundation of bedrock that had been dug deep. We have to pause there to realize that firm foundations come with hard work. Digging all the way to bedrock was no easy task. But the payoff was huge; when the floodwaters came, the house stood unshaken because it was well built.

Woe unto the man who built his house right on the sand without a foundation! It easily collapsed and was completely destroyed in the storm.

So it is with us. When we build our lives upon the firm foundation that is Jesus Christ, we can weather all the storms that come our way. Tragedy, illness, sudden death, betrayal, loss, divorce, addiction … every threatening situation is better withstood when we have our lives firmly planted on Jesus’ shoulders. When we build that same life on the whims and promises of a shallow, groundless secular world, all will be lost with the first breath of an impending gale. If we spend our lives pursuing the temporary pleasures of wealth, attraction, power, status, and greed, we have squandered our time and energy on things that can’t possibly last. The real foundation of life is usually hidden and can only be proven in a storm. By then it is too late if your foundation is weak.

What are you building your life on? Jesus is clear here; doing what he commands is our only sure foundation. We discover this by taking verse 47 seriously: “I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice.”

Come.

Hear.

Do.

May we hit a bedrock of faith as we dig deeper into the life-giving teachings of our Lord.

Take Shelter by Michelle Robertson