Last time, we started to dig into Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

He said, “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” (see Matthew 7:24).

He went on to say, “Anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man.” He is making sure we know that life is connected.

I hope you realize the present is connected to the past and the present is a pretty good predictor of the future. Life is connected. Our current direction is a pretty good indicator of our ultimate destination. Wise people know this.

Jesus told a parable about a wise man who built his house on the rock. Building is a process that takes time. Building is not done overnight. If you’re going to build a house, you must work through a very specific process.

A reputable builder will tell you that you can’t skip steps and you can’t rush the process. You must travel a certain path to get to the finished product. Things must be done in order, and that takes time.

You can’t frame up the walls until you put in a foundation. There is no reason for the drywall people to show up until the framers have built some walls. You typically don’t lay any carpet until you have a roof.

In the context of this parable, the house Jesus spoke about is like our life. It applies to our relationships, our finances, our work and our pleasure. It has to do with anything that is important to us.

And the wise person is the one who listens to what Jesus says and then puts what they hear into practice. That is what it means to build our house on the rock.

Building on the rock represents building the hard way. It is about building the right way. Building on the rock is the most time-consuming way to build. It is the most expensive way to build, but it is the way that’s going to last. It is a slow process.

Building on the rock won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

“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.” (Matthew 7:25) The wise man builds his house on the rock. We’ll pick up there, next time.

Steve Greene is the lead pastor of The Point in Seymour. Read his blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or email him at [email protected]. Send comments to [email protected].