“. . . it had its foundation on the rock.” – Matthew 7:25
Jesus, in one of his great parables, tells about “a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” He goes on to contrast that with “a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Spring is storm season across much of our country, many of them devastating. This spring in particular we have seen violent tornados, wind, and hail wipe out entire communities. Sadly, in many cases there is little that can be done to avoid massive destruction from such violent storms. But for structures that did manage to withstand the storms, it is a good bet they were built on a solid foundation; like trees with deep root systems; or ships tethered to strong anchors. More so are the people, the victims of the storms, many of whom lost everything. Their very survival and recovery, both physically and emotionally, will depend on the strength of their foundation, the depth of their roots, and the anchor to which they are tethered.
A solid foundation is not only critical in the case of surviving a storm, but equally so in attaining sustainable success. “If anyone wants to be around for the long haul and experience sustainable success,” according to Forbes Magazine, “then it is vital to understand the things that matter most.” I recall going through what I like to call my ambition season of life. It was a time when my career was on the rise, and I had “fire in my belly” to succeed. But every so often my wife would reel me in a bit, reminding me of the things that matter most – marriage, family, our core values. She was the solid foundation and the anchor in our family back then – and still is – otherwise, my chasing after success simply for the sake of satisfying my ambition risked being like the foolish man who built his house on sand.
But it goes deeper than that. My wife’s solid foundation is not a product of her own creation, but a foundation built upon a rock; more specifically, built upon The Rock, steadfast and unmovable. It is my Rock too. Who is yours?