Ok, I am going to build a house. Going to do it myself. I have no idea how it is made, but if I believe in myself I can do it! Right? I will simply gather all the materials and start to build it. Carpentry, masonry, electrical, plumbing– I am sure I can figure it out. Plenty of people are out there to give me advice if I need it once in a while.
Would you want to live in my house? Would you want your family to live there? Would you even want to live beside it? At the very least would you not want to question my homemade blueprints?
As ridiculous as it sounds, we build our own houses every day. No sooner does one fall over, than we are gathering materials to build another. Day after day we build them, and night after night they fall. What we don’t realize is that “unless the LORD builds the house, we who build it labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
Proverbs 24: 3-7 says, “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.”
We cannot build a thing on our own, a scheme, a schedule, a plan, nothing, which will stand for any length of time, and that will be strong enough to remain. We are not equipped to draw up our own plans. We were never meant to. When we lean on our own understanding, and follow the wisdom of the world, we may think that THIS time the supports will hold, but we will eventually find that the foundation has crumbled and we must start again.
Of course, there are many of us that simply stay in the construction business all of our lives. We make our own plans, or borrow on the numerous plans that the world gladly produces for us. Still others of us choose to live in the rubble, refusing to get up.
Not today my friends! Today let us collect our materials, our blueprints, and our misguided know-how, and return them to the store we bought them. Let us brush away the sticks and hay and straw, and allow Christ to gather to us the materials we need for a house that will not wash away. Let us make sure that the foundation we stand on is sure and true, “for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”(1 Cor. 3:11)
Today let us put on our mining helmets and go deep. Let us look for gold, silver and precious stones that the Lord has richly provided for us without cost. Let us bring them to the Master Builder who will use them to make a structure that will not fall down, wash away, or burn up. Today let us seek Him prayer, in His Word, on our knees, and repent of all the time we have wasted building our own houses.
Today we start brand new. Rejoice!
walknthepath 