Foundations

Everyone knows how important the foundation is to a good home. If the foundation is poor, the house will be nothing but trouble the entire time you own it. If the foundation is secure, you barely notice it. My wife and I were watching a show on HGTV last week and they were doing some home repairs. Half-way through the work, they uncovered a massive problem with the foundation of the home. All of the improvement stopped until they could fix the foundation. Of course, it was expensive and took more money from their budget, so they weren’t able to remodel everything they desired. The poor foundation had a huge impact on how they could live in their newly designed home.
We all have a foundation in our lives that support us. I propose there are two kinds of foundations we can build our lives upon. The first kind is worldly pleasures and pursuits. This foundation is based upon our happiness, what we are feeling at a particular moment of time, or what someone else tells us is important. This type of foundation is never secure because it is always changing, always shifting. It leaves us unsatisfied, unfulfilled, unhappy, disappointed, confused, and occasionally angry. The other kind of foundation is Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us we are God’s building and “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). When a person’s life is built upon Jesus Christ, it brings about the character qualities and promises of Jesus Christ. This includes all that is good: hope, peace, love, and joy, just to name a few. I don’t know about you, but I could use more hope, peace, love, and joy in my life. I could use more of the things that last in my life. I don’t want a life that is fleeting or vain, but a life that matters, a life that impacts others and our community. That type of life must be built on Jesus Christ. As the song says, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” What are the options when you have a house with a poor foundation? You can move, and hope you get a house with a good foundation. Or, you can tear down your house, re-lay the foundation, and build a new home on top of the new foundation. When you become a Christ-follower, you are tearing down your old home, uprooting the foundation that is broken, uneven, misguided, and dangerous, and laying the foundation of your life upon Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. A foundation that will never shift, never crumble, never rot. A foundation that is secure, providing you with a lifetime of hope, peace, love and joy. Providing you with eternal life.

*This was first published in the Chappell Register on September 12, 2013.