Photo by Ro Niyamot Ullah
BUILDING ON A FIRM FOUNDATION
Rohingya living in the refugee camps in Bangladesh know all about how rains, wind, and flooding can destroy make-shift homes. The Rohingya Green Nature Society reported how the recent Monsoon floods devastated the Rohingya camps.
“Over 12,000 individuals were affected, 2,800+ shelters destroyed, and 50+ landslides reported. Families are left without food, clean water, or a safe place to sleep. Children and the elderly are most at risk. Shelters are collapsing. Essentials are lost. People stand in floodwaters with nowhere to go.”
The Christian Bible records a parable told by Jesus. I think the teaching he gives here could speak to people of all faiths. When he talks about building a house on sand, he’s talking about a lot more than the physical homes we live in.
This is how it goes:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)
I believe the house built on a rock as a foundation is not simply the physical house we live in. I believe he’s talking about our spiritual foundation, which includes following his teachings and clinging to our faith. For me, the foundation I build on is the knowledge that Jesus has an unconditional love for us. No matter who we are, where we’re from, or how we worship.
If our shelter falls down or is washed away by a landslide we will never have to lose the true foundation we build our lives on—the faith that we carry in our hearts. The Almighty we believe in.
No matter how bad things get, God will never abandon us.
marja
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