Building My House

When I saw these pictures on my screen this week, the thought came to me about building...

"The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." Prov. 14:1

....and of course the parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock. Jesus said,

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Matt. 7: 24

There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. I'm either building or tearing down, wise or unwise, among those who hear and obey or those who hear and ignore. One way or the other, I will reap the consequences.

It makes me ask and evaluate myself to see if all areas - visible or not - fall into the category of wise.

So what is meant by "house" in each of these passages? I had to dig and compare for clarification:

The Proverbs 14 can be compared with the wise woman who builds her "house" in Proverbs 31:10-31, where her house is her family, her home, her livelihood, and eventually her legacy. She is a wise woman because she fears the Lord (Prov. 31: 30), and her life proves her understanding of who she is in relation to God.

The word "house" in the Matthew 7 parable of the wise man and the foolish man represents a religious life. My MacArthur Study Bible notes say, "Only the house built on the foundation of obedience to God's Word stands, which calls for repentance, rejection of salvation by works, and trust in God's grace to save through His merciful provision."

Those who truly fear the Lord strive to obey the Lord, but they understand that acceptance by Him is based on His great love towards us, in that He died to save us and make us His own.

I pray that my love and adoration for God, His merciful saving work, His gracious call to relationship, and His immovable character that always does as He promises will be my motivation to live in a worthy manner. Despite this desire, it is only by the knowledge of His will and His indwelling Spirit that enables me to obey. The comforting part is simply knowing that my failures are already covered, setting me free to live wholeheartedly and without fear of condemnation!

>>:<<

And now I'm heading out to playoff games! Friday night games are coming to an end soon (which makes me smile), but we're hoping for some big wins still! The three boys will be playing tonight, and Jacob's team is entering the playoffs as the #1 team out of 65 in his age group. I may just return home a little hoarse tonight, and it will definitely be a good thing if we have games that continue for a few more weeks.

~Katherine