To Live is Christ — with a solid foundation

Figures of speech delight the poet and confuse a new immigrant. From cliches like “Go jump in the lake” and “That’s the way the cookie crumbles” to more original expressions, our language is liberally seasoned with word pictures.

I’d be dismayed if someone took some of these literally. That is, we don’t want people to actually take a dive into a lake or think life’s unexpected events are cookies. This feature in our language is intended to give richer explanations, but generally not precise directions.

Jesus used figures of speech that made His statements more vivid to those who hear Him. On one occasion He was explaining that not all religious-appearing people are pleasing to God with what they do. 

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

These people were doing what appeared to be Christian activities and even used the name of Jesus to do them. Yet Jesus condemned them on the basis of relationship. He said, “I never knew you.” He used a word that in those days described the deepest intimacy between a man and woman. In this case, He was not talking about sex but about that incredible knowledge of God that happens when He comes to live in a person’s heart through faith and genuine salvation.

All the external actions in the world cannot make a person right before God. We are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9). As Jesus explained elsewhere, first the heart needs to be made right. Then the actions that proceed from a new heart will be acceptable. Here is the figure of speech Jesus used to describe someone who is pleasing God:

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24–25)

The firm foundation is obedience to all that Jesus says, not picking the parts that I can easily do. This is about first knowing Him, then knowing what He asks of Me, and then doing what He says.

The promise is vivid. Those who obey Jesus Christ from the heart are like a house solidly planted on a rock. No matter what hits them, they do not fall because they have been obedient.

As I think about my walk with Christ, I could list the times my foundation has been obedience and when the trials of life hit but didn’t make me fall. But I can also remember those times that I’ve not obeyed Him. I crashed.

These crashes are not the same as those Jesus describes as, “I never knew you” and that lead to eternal separation from Him. Instead the crashes in the life of a disobedient Christian are like a glass tipping over (see yesterday’s post). I can get up again and walk with Him again, but first need to get my feet out of the sand and unto the rock . . . Jesus is my rock.

To live is Christ is simple — do what He says. Standing on the Rock is the only way to resist the subtlety, selfishness and stubbornness of temptation and sin. Simple — yet far too often I’m such a Duh. My crashes are good reminders of how much I need God’s help to keep me firmly grounded in Him. 

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