Matthew 7:13-29

Be Still: I take this time to be with you, Jesus, and to lean into your presence and teachings. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to your ways through your Word. Amen

Read: Matthew 7:13-29

'Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock…'   (vv24-27)

Encounter: Back in 2014, I visited the Colosseum in Rome. To say it took my breath away is an understatement. The sheer size, design and skill it would have taken to build, amazed me.

When we read today's passage, we may miss the dramatic reality behind Jesus' words. The first hearers of this teaching were sitting on a hillside, about a hundred miles from Jerusalem. There, Herod was continuing to rebuild the Temple: the people spoke of it as God’s House, built upon a rock.

How easy for the listening crowd to marvel at the human strength and design that produced the Temple building – a symbol of power and success. How radical then for them to trust instead in Jesus as the rock on which to build their lives! 

Here, Jesus teaches that we all build our lives on something – our careers, our relationships, our dreams, our sense of control. But he reminds us that the real test of what we’re building, doesn’t show up when the sun is shining. It shows up in the storm.

Two people may look the same on the outside, but one life stands firm when things fall apart, and the other collapses. The difference? Not what they know, but what they do with what they know.

Jesus says the wise person hears his words and puts them into practice. That means living out his truth in the everyday: forgiving someone who hurt you, trusting God when the job doesn’t work out, choosing peace instead of revenge. When the storms hit – and they always do – we find out if our faith is built on sand (comfort, approval, success) or on the Rock himself – Jesus.

Apply: Take time to ask yourself:

Where am I placing my security right now?
Am I doing what Jesus teaches, or just agreeing with it in theory?
Building on the rock isn’t instant. It’s a daily choice – steady, patient, sometimes hard. But it lasts.

Devote: Jesus, help me not just to listen to you, but to live like you. When life gets shaky, remind me that you’re the solid ground under my feet.