We bought a rock this week. Yep… you read that right… a rock. A big rock… but still just a rock. We have a series of large sandstone rocks that form steps down a steep part of our back yard, and the area needed one more step… hence the big rock purchase. So, the seller loaded it onto my trailer and we took our new rock home. Now all I had to do was put that rock in the right place.
Did I mention this was a big rock? Big as in 800 pounds — which is just a tad under what I am capable of lifting on my own strength. Fortunately, I do have a small tractor, but 800 pounds was right at the limit of what my front bucket can lift. After preparing the place for the new sandstone step by digging out the ground and leveling it with small stone and dirt, we were ready to unload the stone.
So, we put straps around the boulder and over my tractor bucket, I was still skeptical that I would be able to lift it… but to my pleasant surprise I was able to raise it and move it into place. If any of my neighbors were watching they might have seen me jump off the tractor after moving that stone and assuming the Incredible Hulk power pose. Unloaded and installed!
Now that it is in place, do you know what… that rock isn’t going anywhere. It is half buried in the ground and firmly placed. I tried to get that rock to move by jumping up and down on it… and nothing! I couldn’t move that rock with my tractor or even my truck no matter how much I tried. Even the wild winds of Willard, which are becoming legendary in my own mind, couldn’t move that rock.
You know, while setting that heavy sandstone in place on Monday evening, I was reminded of Jesus’ words. “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” Matthew 7:24-25 NLT
Jesus said these words as the conclusion to his Sermon On The Mount, where he taught what a true member of the Kingdom of Heaven would live like. The Beatitudes, living as an influence in the world, the importance of having a renewed heart, how to love people and even your enemies, living generously, avoiding judging others, seeking God’s leading in your life and other such valuable principles that make us Kingdom People.
When we build our lives upon the reality of who Jesus is and what he has done for us… and then seek to live in obedience to his teaching… our lives are built upon a firm foundation indeed… and no amount of jumping, tugging, wind or rain will be able to affect us. We remain planted firm in the secure love of Jesus.
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