THE SOLID LIFE

June 1, 2008
By Pastor Laura Gentry

Matthew 7:21-29
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!" Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My husband and I enjoyed our recent vacation, part of which was in California. We drove the very popular portion of the famous Sunset strip a number of times as we would head down the hill to meet up with my uncle who lives just off the famous street where the trendy set goes to be seen. This street is well known for its billboards where the world-renowned Marlboro Man once towered over the passing motorist. There are even awards given out for the larger-than-life ads.

On our final day there, I felt exhausted by the barrage of overly thin models trying to sell me all sorts of products from fashion to TV shows. I said to William, “It seems like all these billboards do is celebrate the shallow life.” We laughed at how accurate that statement was. The shallow life. It’s not just on Sunset, it’s pretty much everywhere. People are all clamoring to buy the latest fashions or use the trendy gadgets and watch the most popular movies, but are these things really making them happy?

Jesus has some seriously hard words for us today. He declares: "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Even those who call upon the Lord, Jesus will say to them: “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.” I never knew you? Even those who call upon him? Then how can we avoid this terrible fate?

It seems Jesus is dead set on making his point here. He wants us to realize that just knowing about God is not enough. We cannot simply pay him lip service and think our duty to God is paid in full. He says we must not only hear God’s word—we must obey it.

Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was martyred by the Nazis, wrote in his book The Cost of Discipleship: "Humanly speaking, it is possible to understand the Sermon on the Mount in a thousand different ways. But Jesus knows only one possibility: simple surrender and obedience—not interpreting or applying it, but doing and obeying it. That is the only way to hear his words. He does not mean for us to discuss it as an ideal. He really means for us to get on with it."

We must hear the word and obey it. Jesus puts it this way: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.”

When we are connected to God because we live in God’s promises each and every day, our foundation will be solid and nothing that we encounter will throw off our faith. We’ll be like a house on a rock that can stand throughout the storms.

But if we do not act on God’s word, we are in great danger. Jesus explains, “And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!" Jesus makes it clear that the shallow life cannot help us in the end. We might have the exciting things of this world but without hearing and acting on God’s word, we have only emptiness and when the storms come, we will fall.

It is not that Jesus is asking for perfection—that is well beyond us. But he is inviting us into a radical surrender to God. He is warning us that we cannot make it on our own, we cannot fill our lives with things. Our only hope is God. This is the only rock upon which we can depend.

The word of the psalmist in this morning’s psalm is profound. “Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily,” he calls out. “Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me, take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge.”

Is God your rock? Your fortress? Your refuge? If all the other props of our life were taken out from beneath you, would you still be able to stand? Do you feel safe and secure from the storms that you are encountering?

You see, this is what Jesus offers us. He wants us to cling to God as our refuge. He doesn’t want us following the materialistic way of the world into the empty shallow life—thinking that things can save us. No, he wants to be our rock so that we can have a rich, full, meaningful life overflowing with joyful service to others. God wants us to have the solid life of faith! We are called to lean wholly on God so that can become a reality.

Today, as we continue to grow in the Spirit, may we take Jesus serious warning to heart. May we cast aside all the sand foundations, the shallowness of this world, and embrace instead, the rock of our salvation who shall never fail us and will always provide us with the solid life. Amen.


© 2008 Laura Gentry