Two foundations
Published 5:40 am Sunday, August 5, 2018
Jesus tells of two men, one who builds his house on a rock, while the other, constructs his house upon the sand. When the storms of life come crashing; the house on the rock holds firm, while the home built on sand lays in a pile of rubble.
Such as it is in life. We are watching this play out on the world stage in every theater of life from the family to churches, the political arena, the workplace; everywhere.
There are only two foundations to choose from – sand or rock. In the building of everything, you begin with the foundation. You cannot put the roof on without walls, and you cannot build the walls without the foundation. The foundation must come first.
The sand and the rock foundations of life also come from the beginning, the beginning of time. In no particular order, here are the two foundations.
Foundation number one –
Though no one knows how it got here, there was a giant rock floating through space that somehow exploded, causing a big bang. The result of this massive explosion is the universe. While billions of years pass, gasses and liquids mix, life somehow begins, and lifeforms change or evolve, from one creature to another as they adapt to their surroundings.
Here we are, after billions of years. According to the evolution charts, man is at the zenith. We have moved beyond the instincts of the animal; we think, we build, we reason, rising above our forefathers, the apes, the amebas, and everything in between, to live in a complex civilization of homes, technology, psychology, and culture.
Foundation number two –
The universe is less than ten thousand years old. An all knowing, all mighty God created everything in an adult state (in other words, the chicken did come before the egg).
God created everything in a perfect state (Genesis 1:31), making man in His own image (Genesis 1:26). God made humankind with free choice, and sadly, man chose to sin, to disobey God (Genesis 3). Because of sin, death, physical and spiritual, entered the world (Romans 5:12).
Since God is all-knowing, He knew the choice man would make, and He prepared ahead of time (Revelation 13:8). God’s plan to fix the predicament sin placed us was to send His sinless Son to die and rise from the dead for the sins of the world (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 1:18-19). God offers salvation from sin, but man again must use his free will and place faith in what the Son of God has done to receive salvation (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).
What type of life can we build upon these two foundations?
Foundation number one – without some intelligence starting it all there was no plan, no purpose. Regardless of where the vast mass of elements came from that made everything and eventually us, or why it exploded, without some brains behind it, it was all an accident. Therefore, we are accidents. Since there was no plan or purpose behind the origins of things; we have no plan or purpose. The best we can do is set our own goals and determine our meaning. Hopefully, we live long happy lives, but there is no guarantee of longevity or happiness. We see all the evil and misery in the world and wonder, “why?” We have not one to look to but ourselves; after all, we are at the top of the evolutionary mountain. After billions of years, we are the best creation could do, but we seem to have no answers, and we have no purpose with the possible exception of our immediate pleasure. Without a Creator, we will live our lives, die, and with most of us, within a few generations fade from anyone’s memories.
With foundation number two because there was an intelligent Creator, everything and everyone have a purpose. None of us are accidents. God is all knowing and ever-present. He was in eternity past, He is now, and He is already in every moment of the future. God has a perfect plan for each human being that has ever lived or ever will live. He also has given us a free will to choose His ideal plan or build on the sand, also known as foundation number one.
Because most people have chosen to build on the sand chaos and misery is the order of the day.
Is Jesus your Saviour? When the storms of life come; to which foundation are you anchored?
Preacher Johnson is pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County, Indiana. Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com. Preacher Johnson is available for revivals, prophecy conferences and other speaking. Sermons and archived Preacher’s Point can be found at www.preacherspoint.wordpress.com.