NorthStar Church Blog

One of the easiest things to overlook about Jesus’ illustration of the poorly constructed house is the inevitability of oncoming tribulation. Indeed, for both the house built on the rock and the house lacking a foundation the approaching flood is a certitude. In verse 48 we are told “when a flood arose” and, likewise in 49, “when the stream broke against it.” The old adage applies here: it’s not “if, but when.”

Proactive will always beat reactive when it comes to enduring life’s difficulties. The time to lay the foundation is before the diagnosis, before the betrayal, before the accident, before the financial setback. And building upon that foundation will look like compound consistency – obeying God’s Word, daily devotions, fellowship with other believers, praying, evangelizing, memorizing and studying Scripture, etc. These things done routinely over time result in a profound, enduring faith that can weather the storms of life. Oswald Chambers, the author of the exceptional devotional My Utmost For His Highest, states, “Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do…the routine of life is actually God’s way of saving us between our times of great inspiration.”

Thanks be to God that we are here today in front of His Word listening to what He has to tell us. Consider it an invaluable deposit in the treasury of Christian living. Whether you are in the storm or headed into the storm, know that a house built on Christ is “well-built” (v.48).

Every day when I get home from work, my son attempts to get me to jump on the trampoline with him. After deflecting for a few minutes, I typically resign myself to accepting my temporary role as an acrobat. Tonight was no different. However, afterward, when our bouncing had subsided and we were lying on our backs on the trampoline looking through the overhead foliage, he said, “Look at all the different types of leaves. That tree is different than that tree and that tree. There are at least four types of trees here!”

He was right. I had never given it much thought until then. But looking up into that canopy, we spotted leaves according to their kind: the five-pointed, star-shaped leaf of the sweet gum; the oblong, rounded lobes of the oak; the three-pointed, sawtooth notches of the red maple; and the long, bushy pine needles.

“You can tell what kind of tree it is by its leaf,” I said. The words had scarcely left my mouth before I heard the voice of Jesus booming in my mind: “For each tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:44).

Of course, the analogy is not exactly apples to apples (pun intended), for we were looking at leaves and not fruit, but the principle stands — people are recognized by their actions and character. A genuine relationship with Jesus will produce fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit (look to Galatians 5:22–23 for a list of the fruit of the Spirit). Conversely, a person without a genuine relationship with Jesus will not produce fruit, regardless of their nominal affiliation with Him.

This should be cause for self-examination. Are we bearing fruit? And, if so, what is the fruit? Are we connected to the Gardener, the Life-Giver, who alone is able to nourish us?

It is amazing the things you can learn just by saying yes to jumping on the trampoline.

Have you ever put on an outfit, checked your appearance in the mirror, gathered your belongings, and, just before leaving the house, found yourself returning to the mirror to reassess how you look? I’ll be the first to admit it is a regular occurrence for me. What happens? Is the first look not sufficient to quell my doubts about my sense of fashion? Have I forgotten what I look like?

James warns us not to do this with our spiritual lives. In the age of cameras and screens, the analogy is extremely relevant — we can all identify with his words on some level. When we come face to face with the Word of God, it “exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12). Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians says that we are “looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord…being transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Let us then, after gazing intently into the Word, be doers who act. This is the essence of Christian practice.

Imagine a world where the apostles were hearers only, where action did not follow the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual transformation they experienced. Where Paul did not painstakingly traverse the Mediterranean. Where the saving message never reached farther afield. Where the church acquiesced to pagan rule and succumbed to persecution. Where the brutish moral standards of ancient life were never abolished. Where monasteries never felt compelled to preserve and transmit the text. Where literacy and charitable organization did not follow evangelism. Where religious liberty was snuffed out by an elite institution.

Almost all of our present freedoms and values are a direct result of the transformative effect that Christendom has had upon the world — all because individuals followed Christ as doers and not hearers only. Let us “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).