May 6 I Monday

1 Kings 21-22

Luke 23:26-56

“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.”   —Matthew 7:24

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a parable about two builders. We can imagine that these two men probably built their respective houses using the same architect, design and material. If we were to see both houses, we would not have known the difference. The two houses looked good until one day, a storm came by, the winds blew, a flood rose, and one of the houses fell flat while the other stayed firm.

The only contrast between these houses was their foundation: the one that collapsed was built on sand, whereas the one that stayed firm was built on a rock. Jesus explains the comparison between these two men: the wise one who hears His Word and puts it into practice is the one who builds his house on the rock, but the foolish one who hears His Word and does not put it into practice is the one who builds his house on sand. The difference between stability and vulnerability is not hearing the Word of God because both the wise and the foolish heard the Word of God. The distinction is whether they acted upon it.

We are to read the Word of God, meditate, believe and obey. Believing is not passive but active because believing leads to obedience. James tells us, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:22-24).

But why do we look in the mirror in the first place? To admire ourselves? No, we do it mostly to patch up our appearance, whether to comb our hair, wash our face, or clean our teeth. There is often a purpose behind why we look in a mirror. We would not walk away from a mirror without changing something. To look in a mirror and immediately forget how we look is like reading God’s Word without letting it impact who we are and how we live.

James tells us, “whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25). Like the wise builder who built his house on the rock, may we not only read the Word of God but also put His Words into action.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, create in me a desire to read Your perfect Word so that I might build my life on Your solid rock. Thank You, Lord.