“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.”

“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.” These are the very words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24 ff, the Message.

In this powerful metaphor, Jesus offers us a picture of two different ways to build one’s life.  That’s what we’re doing, you know—we are building our lives every single day by the actions we take, the decisions we make, and the people and values that influence us.