Check the Foundation

"...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.”
Luke 6:49

Foundation

Today a friend who is from the Philippines was asked about family members who may have been hit by the typhoon recently. She gladly exclaimed that no family members were hurt by the storm.

She did go on to tell us that when Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were leaders of the Philippines, they built many high rise hotels and buildings on a foundation of sand. They did this for outward appearances only. They wanted the world to think that Manila was an important tourist destination open for business to those traveling around the world.

Now that the worst typhoon on record hit the islands, the truth is out: the buildings are dangerous because they have a weak foundation.

Crank

This story reminded me of another story told at a writers conference recently by author, Ellen Hopkins.

As Ellen began to tell her story, she used the remodeling of her home as a metaphor for what she and her family had been through over the years.

She was a successful writer of children's non-fiction. She traveled all over the country and met interesting people while doing research for her books. She wrote and sold many books and reaped the rewards of her efforts. As a result, she was able to remodel the home she shared with her husband and children. Life was good.

And that's when the contractor informed her that the house they lived in had no foundation. 

You can imagine her shock! Immediately, the workers began remodeling from the bottom up.

Ellen Hopkins related to us how she thought her life had a solid foundation, too. She thought her life could withstand any storm that came. And that's when everything hit...

One weekend, her fifteen year old daughter went on a camping trip with friends and on this trip she met The Monster. An older boy on the trip introduced Ellen's daughter to crystal meth. The Monster revealed that her family had no foundation and would need to be remodeled from the bottom up.

As a way of dealing with the tragic events that would unfold, Ellen Hopkins wrote the book, Crank. It went on to be a hugely successful novel...the novel she had always dreamed of writing...and led to many sequels.

Now she is rich beyond her wildest dreams, but her family is forever shaken, her daughter remains in prison, but Ellen has learned a powerful lesson: always build on a solid foundation.

"...he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built."
Luke 6:48

How's the Foundation?

Her story and the story of the Philippines got me thinking this morning. I realized I needed to check my foundation. Was my life built on sand trying to appeal to people with outer appearances only? Or was my life built on the solid foundation of rock?

You see, I may not have the fame and fortune that Ellen Hopkins has as an author, but I do have a solid foundation in Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone that aligns everything in my life. This Rock cannot be shaken even by the most powerful storms.

I may not have that beautiful mountain view Ellen Hopkins has when she looks out her living room window, but I have a mansion in glory awaiting me and when Christ returns, I shall see Him descending from the clouds. I'd rather have that view than any other!

I don't know if Ellen Hopkins has Christ as her foundation today, but I do know that Christ is the only solid Rock that we should build our lives upon.

That's where my comfort and security come from...no matter what the storm. My foundation will hold.




You turn: On what is your life built upon? Christ warned His children not to be like those who built on sand. How's your foundation?




Blessings,
Ruth

My books and many other Christian books
are available through my publisher, OakTara.