Quixotic
Series: Always Relevant: God Is…
Matthew 7:24-27 AMP
It may seem quixotic but it’s good to be like the wise man. Even though it could be a difficult or an unrealistic goal, according to the example given in scripture it is a goal that we can attain when we rely on God’s support and help.
Matthew 7:24-27 tells us, “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.”
The story of the wise man who relied on God and looked to God for support was a song I taught to children in church years ago. It was easy to learn and was animated so it was a favorite song with the kids (especially the boys).
It goes like this:
The wise man built his house on a rock (repeat three times)
And the rains can tumblin’ down.
When the rains came down the floods came up (repeat three times)
And the house on the rock stood firm.
Then at the end when we sing the house stood firm the children would make a fist with each hand and stack them firmly together. The second part goes like this:
The foolish man built his house on the sand (repeat three times)
And the rains came tumblin’ down.
When the rains came down the floods came up (repeat three times)
And the house on the sand went Splat.
When we sang splat the children would clap their hands together loudly. I remember the boys liked this song because of the hand motions…especially the splat!
The boys always made a big deal of the splat with their hands!
The point of the song was that the wise man relied on Jesus as his foundation.
Getting that across to a child or even an adult is a little difficult. What does it look like to build your life by making Jesus the foundation?
Let’s say there once was a man who believed in God from the time he was a boy. Even when he grew older he relied on scripture, he loved and forgave others as Jesus taught. He had a heart for helping the poor. He prayed to God and he relied on God’s love and care.
He had a good job but one day his company closed. At that same time a lot of people lost their jobs. People all around him were having a hard time. He wondered how he could help. He was able to convince a local restaurant owner to donate food supplies that were left over at the end of the day.
He was able to find a space that had a kitchen and also had tables and chairs. He found others who were out of work who knew how to cook simple meals from the donated food. Others heard about what he was doing and they would drop off food supplies.
When he would meet people who needed help he told them to come in the evening to eat.
The man prayed and asked others to pray that there would be enough food to feed everyone who was hungry. As a result everyone who came always had food. God CAN multiply food (see Matthew 14:13-21). There were times when he couldn’t explain how the supply of food seemed to miraculously expand. By trusting God the wise man was able to help others in need. His life was built on trusting God.
The foolish man on the other hand built his life on the sand.
About the same time there was another man who also lost his job. He was very angry and everyday he shook his fist at God because he lost his job.
He was so angry that he took it out on other people around him.
Every day he would sit down to talk to God and he would end up shaking his fist at God. When others tried to help him he told them he believed God had cursed him.
The man was not open to new possibilities. He refused to look for ways God was at work in his life.
As a result of his negative attitude, he eventually stopped trying to pray. He drifted farther and farther away from friends and family. He refused to accept help or suggestions from anyone.
It became clear that the man’s life was built on sand. Because he kept his eyes on losing his job and wasn’t open to any other options, he lost his faith. He didn’t lose faith because of God. He lost faith because he refused to trust God. He refused to turn to God.
Both men were in a difficult situation.
When life gets difficult (and it happens to everyone) we have a choice. We can exercise our faith by turning to God and trusting God to open new doors or we can refuse to exercise our faith which can result in not trusting God to help us.
Either way, God loves us. Even when we refuse to trust God, the love God has for us doesn’t go away. At any point, we can turn to God and receive what God has for us.
I believe either way God’s love for us is eternal.
I believe God loves us so much that He never stops wanting us to turn to Him.
I believe whatever road you are on, you can always turn to God and you will be received.
Spiritual Practice: Turn
Turn to God and receive God’s love.
In God, Deborah