At first, Max didn't want to learn. He just wanted to fill the bucket with some sand and turn it over - but when it didn't create a mound he was angry and frustrated. After a little bit of reasoning, his daddy convinced him to try it his way. Soon Max knew exactly what to do and how to do it.
Then the stick entered the story. It was an impressive stick to the mind of my three year old and he instantly stuck it into the top of one of his sandhouses. Of course, the sandhouse crumbled.
Sometimes when I read my Bible I find myself guilty of interrupting verses to fit my wants - if I place certain emphasis on a word or phrase here or there I can pretty much mold it into the words I want to hear - not the words God wrote for me. So, lately I have started rereading the same verses in The Message version of the bible. It is blunt and straightforward and I can't twist my interpretation into God's Word. It is the Word in the form of a rock that hits me upside the head when I need hitting upside the head. Which is often, quite often.
Such as this,
"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." Matthew 7:26-27
God has always been plain and forthcoming with His Word, but the use of today's language gives me no wiggle room in understanding exactly what He wants me to understand - and apply to my life.
Most of us have heard the story and sang the children's song, The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock. Today I challenge you to sit down and sing it with your child. If you don't know it, then learn it.
Now let's question ourselves about how much we read and discuss while studying the Bible but then fail to apply to our lives. Stupid, that's a serious word, but it is what we are when we walk that path of rebellion.
Read Matthew 7:24-29 of God's Holy Word and commit or rededicate yourself to a life foundation built upon the rock. The rock who is Christ Jesus Himself. He is the wise path. He is the only path to eternal salvation and a life that cannot collapse into an eternity of seperation from Him.
An acceptance of Jesus and God' Word - translated into any language or modern wording, with nothing added to or taken away from - is all one needs to build a foundation that is unshakeable by this world and all the sticks that can poke at us.
And the best part of all - He's the master of second chances. You get to rebuild your house as many times as you need to get it right.
Now that's impressive. At the conclusion of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7, the crowd . . .
". . . burst into applause. This was the best teaching they had ever heard." Matthew 7:28
I watched Max and realized the lesson of poking that stick into his weak sandcastle was just one of the many lessons he has ahead of him. I then whispered another little prayer, one of the many ahead of me.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
"The Solid Rock" by Edward Mote
