"Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 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 6:47-49 NKJV)
In the verses above, Jesus was speaking in a parable about two men who built houses. One built his house on the ground without a foundation and the other on a rock. This parable hearkens back to a children’s Bible song, “The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and the house on the sand went SPLAT! The wise man built his house upon the rock and the house on the rock stood firm.”
How does this parable apply to our lives today? If we build our house based on our own selfish motives, our foundation is always shaky. When troubles arise and we face difficulty, we are unable to withstand the storms and are left in despair. However, when we choose to follow Christ, who is the Rock, even when the storms come, we can put our hope and trust in Him and we are able to ride the storms out.
"To build your house on the rock is to hear what Jesus says and obey. To be foolish and build your house on the sand is to hear and ignore." - Kevin DeYoung