Perhaps if we completely trust the fact of how solid Jesus is, it will not be hard for us to confidently respond with these words: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
There was a couple who built their off-the-grid home with two trees, one on each end, for anchors. Unfortunately, the trees continued to grow, slowly lifting the house with them. And because of the high winds in the area, the house would sway along with the trees. The couple was only a disaster away from losing their home and their lives.
The Bible’s Great Building Suggestion
The couple’s “terror treehouse” is a great reminder of what two out of the three little pigs in the fairy tale did. First, you can’t build a house of straw. Second, you can’t build it out of sticks.
Sometimes, we don’t plan well. Consider where you are going to live and what potential natural disasters can happen. You can live with a beautiful cliff home for astounding sunsets, but heavy rain can cause mudslides. Or you can be in an ideal tropical location with rich soil for planting and gardening, but with existing volcanic activities, an eruption is most likely to happen. Sometimes, we like to cut corners. We’re too lazy to canvass for materials and prices so we settle for pictures and bargains instead.
Building or buying a home should not be romanticized. It’s not all about the dreamy “white picket fence.” It can be a complicated and stressful process. You want to be confident in your investment by really understanding what it takes to own a particular home and how to smartly look for one.
Let's return to the fairy tale, focusing on the third pig: “he worked all day and built his house with bricks. It was a sturdy house… It looked like it could withstand the strongest winds.” His house was the only one the wolf couldn't blow down! In real life, it’s not only about the material used for building. It’s all about the foundation, where the building will sit or stand.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we read about building a house on the Rock. Jesus said, “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (7:29).
In today's times, if we don't build on the rock, it's much like building a home on expansive soil, creating multiple cracks on the driveway and inside the house. No matter how many times the cracks are patched, they reappear. Eventually, thousands of dollars are spent to drill 40 to 50 anchors into the bedrock to eliminate the constant shifting.
That’s exactly what Jesus is saying! You can get by in life without a care for a personal relationship with Him. But when troubles—the rain, the floods, the winds—come, will you still be standing, or will you be washed away and forever crippled and unable to get out of the pit? Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a man who built his house on rock” (Matthew 7:24). He continued, “And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (vv. 26-27).
There’s a Cost to What Will Be Built
A home is an investment—a big one too! There are many things to consider in narrowing down the search list for a property. The priority for almost everyone is the cost. How much are you able to afford?
In the Bible, Jesus said these words: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14:28-30).
There is a home, with its bare bones exposed to all elements, that has been sitting now for years. The owners had completely gutted it for a total renovation. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened and stopped everything. And when the work could have restarted, the owners could no longer afford the high costs of materials and labor. The home is rotting and crumbling…a total loss for the owners and an eyesore to the community.
These words of Jesus make complete sense about counting costs for anything and everything. He was calling the attention of the great crowds that had been following him. He posed this challenge: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 18:26-27).
You see, they were all excited to hear His teachings and see the miracles He was performing. But when He was asking them to “renounce all,” they could not and did not stay. When Jesus called His first four disciples—brothers Peter and Andrew, and James and John—they immediately left everything and followed Him. They had a lucrative fishing business, but they just upped and left, even their families. You can read their story in Luke 5:1-11.
In Luke 9, we read of someone making this announcement: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). He wasn’t alone in making that statement. “Okay, let’s go!” Jesus called the bluff of all who were gung-ho in joining Him. But do you know what happened to the bold and brave? They all crumbled with excuses! “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (v. 59). It’s obvious that we like to hear our voices make almost the same wonderful declarations to Jesus. We make empty promises to God, but when collection times come, we cannot fulfill them. How hard it really is for us to leave the world!
So… Let’s Build!
The “terror house” couple called for much-needed help, as they didn’t want to lose their property. The company temporarily constructed braces for their home while the trees were cut. Steel bars were drilled into the bedrock, and concrete was poured on them afterward. Their house was then set on these new foundations with metal braces placed in strategic spots. The couple can now live without fear of a tilting and swaying home!
Dream homes can sometimes be more fantasy than reality, causing headaches and unplanned expenses, even disasters. Sadly, that mentality is sometimes carried through the way we live our lives—without much thought and care for the future… for eternity.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain,” Psalm 27:1 says. There’s no other way around it! Our sinful nature—made of sticks and straw—always battles to take over what brick foundation God built in us through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Unless we totally surrender to Him and abide in Him, we will not fully understand God’s heart’s desire for us. Perhaps if we completely trust the fact of how solid Jesus is, it will not be hard for us to confidently respond with these words: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Valentina Locatelli
Luisa Collopy is an author, speaker and a women’s Bible study teacher. She also produces Mula sa Puso (From the Heart) in Tagalog (her heart language), released on FEBC Philippines stations. Luisa loves spending time with her family over meals and karaoke!
