“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27).
Jesus is illustrating here that the only house that will hold up in the coming storm is established on a strong foundation. The house Jesus is talking about is our walk with him. We are building a foundation of getting to know Christ, of understanding his ways. We are building into our faith certain characteristics that will determine how we react under pressure.
Many Christians say, “Well, I’m a believer. I have built on the Rock.” Yet, they do not truly understand what this phrase means and they will have a great shock when their relationship with Jesus does not endure the storm. They will be exposed as having no foundation!
We cannot understand this parable unless we understand that it is about obedience! Jesus is speaking of a person who hears his Word and does it, who obeys him, who acts on his commands. He is describing a lifestyle — a walk of total, absolute obedience to his Word. That is to be our foundation!
Of course, Jesus himself is our rock, but that is not the full meaning of “rock” as he used it here in this parable. Some who claim they have built on Christ as their rock may not be building properly. This rock is a condition of the heart and represents the foundational motives from which our obedience to God originates.