Foundations

From the living room window I can see a neighbor’s deck. Twenty years ago it looked great, but over the years it began to sag. The house has had three or four owners, but the sagging never stopped.

At first the tilt was barely noticeable, but now one corner is raised because the opposite corner has sunk so much. Unlevel by quite a few degrees, it looks as if a giant has twisted it with both hands.

About two months ago I was encouraged to see some men talking together and gesturing under the deck, as if a construction project were being considered. “Great,” I thought. “Finally, they are going to shore up this rickety deck before it collapses.”

Instead, the next day one of them began power washing the deck boards and the railings to loosen the dirt and chipped paint. After the water had dried, he rolled on two coats of bright red deck stain. Now it is a beautifully stained rickety deck which is collapsing.

My mind ran to Jesus’ words about building one’s house on a rock rather than sand. Without secure footing, no amount of remodeling or refurbishing will prevent its eventually being washed away.

The image is so powerful that Jesus ends His first sermon with the story of the wise and foolish builders. The only secure foundation for a life is Jesus’ words. “All other ground is sinking sand.”

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like 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. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like 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.”
Matthew 7:24–27