A Firm Foundation

A Firm Foundation

Luke 6:47-49 NKJV

47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

   The Leaning Tower of Pisa was designed to be a bell tower for a cathedral, with a bell on each floor that would sound a different musical note.  But after only three floors, the weight began to compress the soil under its foundation.  The soil, being a mix of clay and sand, settled unevenly.  The tower, which is seven floors high and weighs over 14,200 tons, has been slowly tilting over the years.  It was closed for repairs in 1990 when the angle got to more than 14 ½ feet out of line.  Thankfully, combinations of counterweights, excavated soil and slings have finally stabilized one of the most famous buildings in the world.  It was reopened in 2001 for tourists to view.   

   The Tower would never have become a tourist attraction if the original designers had taken precautions.  There were hundreds of towers built on Italy’s wet soil that didn’t sink, but the ground that the Pisa Tower was built on was not properly prepared.  They were building for a cathedral built to honor Jesus, but ignored His words about building on a firm foundation.

   One of the most tragic men I ever knew was a former pastor who had been dismissed by his congregation after his views changed.  He had been an honor graduate from a good Baptist Bible school, and his church was growing and making an impact on their community.  But he was fascinated by Jesus’ early life and was convinced Jesus had traveled all over the ancient world in the years between His appearance in the Temple at 12 and the start of His ministry at 30.  He studied books about Jesus traveling to India with Mary & Joseph and later traveling to Britain with some rich uncle, probably Joseph of Arimathea, who was searching for rich trade routes.  His fascination with this took over his life and he ignored the rest of his teaching to focus on this one thing.

   This man’s error was not curiosity; it was stepping off his firm foundation and trying to build on the sand of maybes.  All our theology has to be built on the only firm foundation we have, the Bible, and never on speculation, historical footnotes, or popular opinions.

   I like to reflect on my own life every January, and this New Year I urge you to do the same.  Most importantly, be sure your foundation in solid.  Don’t believe something just because you’re told to; know why you believe what you believe.  Dig into the Word of God and do the research yourself.  Is your faith ready to weather a storm?  If it was your pastor who started preaching outside of the Bible, would you know?  Would you follow along blindly or would you defend your beliefs?  Could you defend your beliefs?  Don’t be a Leaning Tower in the Kingdom of God, stand straight and steady on a solid foundation. 

Stephen Cram                       January 2, 2011                     Colossians 2:8