Built on Nothing Less
by Bethany Notgrass
We all have a choice before us: on what foundation will we build our lives? There are several options. Some people choose the acquisition of wealth. Some people spend their lives pursuing power. Others want to win. Some people want complete independence. You will meet people who exist to please their family or friends. For others, the priority is to be socially successful. Still others live in the pursuit of having a perfect family. Some people simply want to feel good, and isolate themselves from as much pain as possible. Everyone has a top priority, whether he has ever thought about it or not. Every person has a central purpose. What is yours?
People spend years of their lives pursuing this #1 goal. Some people achieve it, and some do not. Whatever the outcome, the foundation you choose will define your life. It will be your core. Your choices, and thus the course of your life, will be the result.
Jesus has offered Himself to us as a foundation on which to build our lives. He isn't forcing you to choose Him, but His offer will always stand. Even if you have experimented with other foundations, it is not too late to build your life on the Rock. Jesus said,
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall" (Matthew 7:24-27, NASB).
Imagine that you're walking on a wide, sandy beach. As you walk around a bend, you see a section of beach dotted with tents as far as you can see. The tents are only large enough for one person. Behind the sandy beach is a towering cliff of rock. By squinting against the bright sun, you can see that there are small houses built on the cliff.
The night after your walk, there is a violent thunderstorm. You're glad to be in a safe cabin far back from the sea. The next day you walk the same route and come to the same sandy beach. Every tent on the beach is damaged. Many have completely collapsed. Some are standing in a puddle of water. Some of the canvas is ripped or missing. The storm left every tent uninhabitable. Up on the cliff, the houses look exactly the same as they did the day before. They stand looking calm and confident on their rocky base. You turn back toward home because you see another threatening cloud in the sky.
Joshua told the Israelites,
Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:14-15).
We see people all around us building on sand. A person will build on sand again and again, despite having his tent knocked down again and again. The people of Israel had a choice - to serve the idols of the people around them, or to serve the Lord. Each had to make up his mind: whom am I going to serve?
Too many times, the people of Israel chose to serve the worthless idols, or in other words, to build on the sand. It didn't work. The sand shifted and their lives fell with a crash. There are other ways people build on the sand with the same catastrophic results. The girl who won beauty contests and was universally admired for her outward appearance finds herself old and wrinkled. The young man who was smart in school and grew up hearing he would be someone great never finds his dream career. The lady who spent her life dreaming about the children she would have finds out it is physically impossible for her. The couple that had more money than time to spend it watches their business collapse and are left with nothing. The celebrity athlete suffers an injury that brings his career to a halt. These people were living in tents on the sand, and when storms came, they found they had nothing left.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the Solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand."My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less"
Edward Mote, 1834
We all have "sweetest frames" in which we are tempted to trust. It can be anything from relationships to macaroni and cheese. For most of us, it is a combination of several things on the list. We are tempted to spend time on the sand to "feel good." We may tell ourselves, "I'm just hanging out on the sand. I really live on the rock." But if we allow ourselves that excuse, we will soon find ourselves completely moved into a tent, not even visiting our house on the rock for weekends. Do you try to make yourself feel better by eating macaroni and cheese? Your family is going to run out. Is your happiest moment when you get a letter or e-mail? There will be days when you get junk mail or nothing. Do you get your most deep-down pleasure when you are noticed by a person you admire? There will be plenty of times in your life when you are simply ignored. Is your central goal winning competitions? There will be times that you lose. Is earning money what really gets you excited? Before long, you will wonder what happened to it. Do you wait around for people to notice and praise your accomplishments? Be prepared: you will do something great and people will not notice. Do you flash your biggest smile when you get to buy a great new outfit? It's going to go out of style. When you want to feel better, do you turn to a chocolate bar? There is definitely a limit to the number you should eat.
God gives us many pleasures, including the ones listed above, but God did not intend for those pleasures to become pursuits in themselves. Those things, and the many other big and small things like them, cannot be counted on for our completeness as a person. Everything - everything - except the Solid Rock will one day fail us. None of those things are bad, but we cannot center our lives around them. We can't turn to them in times of trouble. We cannot build on sinking sand. If we do, we will always be sliding, always looking for something solid and never finding it. There is only one Solid Rock on which we can stand. I confess to you that I struggle with this. In difficult times, I am tempted to use little props to make myself feel temporarily better - whether it is counting on another person to support me, drowning my anxious thoughts by reading a book, or, yes, a piece of good chocolate. You and I are required to make conscious decisions, day after day, to choose to serve the Lord, to build our lives on the Rock, and to build our hope on nothing less.
(This article is taken from the March 2006 issue of the amie newsletter. amie is a network for Christian homeschooled teenage girls. Members receive a monthly newsletter in the mail and have the opportunity to participate in contests and projects. Visit the amie website for more information.)