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The Wise and Foolish Builders<br />
What’s your foundation<br />
for life? If someone<br />
were to ask you<br />
what your life<br />
philosophy was,<br />
what would you say? Most people<br />
who I speak to say something<br />
like, “I’ve always done my best,”<br />
or “I’ve sought to live life by the<br />
golden rule”.<br />
There’s a fairly<br />
famous story<br />
that Jesus told<br />
commenting on the<br />
foundations of our<br />
lives. Jesus compared<br />
two builders. The wise<br />
man builds his house<br />
on a rock foundation.<br />
the rain comes down,<br />
the winds blow and the<br />
fl oods are raised up,<br />
but the house stands<br />
fi rm because of its foundation.<br />
The rock is solid and means that<br />
the house stands fi rm. The foolish<br />
man builds his house on the sand,<br />
and when the rain comes and the<br />
streams rise, the house falls with a<br />
crash. The sand is washed away,<br />
and the house falls fl at. It’s one of<br />
Jesus most famous parables, at<br />
least in part thanks to many of us<br />
singing a catchy action song about<br />
it in primary school!<br />
Of course, hearing a story like<br />
that, we all want to build our lives<br />
on rock; on good foundations. So<br />
what are the good foundations<br />
that Jesus is talking about? Jesus<br />
says it is to hear his words and to<br />
put them into practice. So what<br />
does it mean to put the words of<br />
Jesus into practice? Sometimes<br />
people are surprised when I<br />
suggest that “I’ve done my best”<br />
or the “golden rule” is not the<br />
centre of Christian teaching about<br />
the foundations for<br />
life. But at the heart<br />
of the message of<br />
Christianity is not<br />
that we have done<br />
our best, but that we<br />
recognise that we<br />
haven’t done our best<br />
and are in need of<br />
God’s forgiveness.<br />
to be a Christian<br />
is not simply to do<br />
one’s best; it is to be<br />
forgiven because we<br />
can’t live perfectly. And if we’re<br />
truthful with ourselves, we know<br />
that we don’t always do our best;<br />
we never do.<br />
So what’s your foundation?<br />
Jesus says the only solid<br />
foundation is to follow him.<br />
Rev Duncan Bell<br />
“We all want to<br />
build our lives<br />
on rock; on good<br />
foundations.<br />
So what are<br />
the good<br />
foundations that<br />
Jesus is talking<br />
about?”<br />
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
Church Offi ce: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffi eld S8 0GA<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5086<br />
Page 22<br />
email: offi ce@stchads.org<br />
website: www.stchads.org
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