Sinking Sand or Solid Rock?
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man
, by Emmanuel Higgins
There were once two men, and each needed to build a house.
The first man was foolish, and chose to build on sandy soil where it was easy to access and easy to dig the foundations. In a few short weeks he was almost finished.
The second man was wise, and chose to build his house on a rocky hill, where it was very hard to access and to dig the foundation. He spent many months building his house.
As time passed a huge storm broke upon the houses of these men. After much rain, a flood swept through the valley and the man's house that was built on the sand was swept away. But the second man who had built on the rocky hill was safe. No matter how hard it rained or how fierce the floods were his house remained solid and immovable.
Let's ask ourselves the question. What's the foundation of our life? Are we like the foolish man, are our lives built on sand?
The story above is from the Matthew 7:24-27 where the Bible says:
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Jesus said that whoever heard his words and obeyed Him, would be like a wise man who built on a rock. And that house could never be torn down!!! It could never be moved!
But if we only hear the wonderful words of Jesus and yet still go our own way and don't do what He says, then we are like a foolish person, who builds his house on the sand! Just think about that, who would want to build a house on a sand-dune? It sounds very foolish doesn't it?
Perhaps the foolish man thought he was safe? His house was standing to start with and it was cosy and warm inside, everything was going just fine. But when the floods came he had no hope! His house fell flat, and great was the fall of it.
What about our lives? When Satan brings temptations and trials to us it may feel like we are being battered by a flood! The Bible refers to the enemy coming in like a flood:
Isaiah 59:19...when the enemy shall come in like a flood...
And perhaps you've found yourself standing on sand before. And when the flood of temptation or trial comes, you fall flat like that foolish man. But! Don't be discouraged, lets choose to be like the wise man. Who listens to what Jesus tells us in the Bible and does what he says!
And when we listen and obey Jesus what rock are we building our lives on?
Psalms 18:2 The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust
1. Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Jesus is our Rock! He is the firm foundation that we can build our lives upon. And if we obey Jesus, and everything He tells us in his word, the Bible, we have the assurance that no matter what flood beats upon us, no matter how fierce the storms of this life may get we will never fall, we will never be moved.
God wants us to build securely upon the eternal Rock, the word of God. We have been only hearers long enough. Let us now put the important lessons of Christ into practise. He who is a hearer and not a doer of the word, Christ compares to the man who built his house upon the sand. It needs only the storm of temptation to break upon such, and the foundation they supposed so secure is swept away. How great is the loss to these souls! They might have had eternal life--a life that measures with the life of God--had they built upon the firm foundation. - Youth Instructor, October 22, 1896
111 Comment(s)
simon ho 2 years ago - November 28, 2022 at 1:38 am
castle on the sand
Luke 2 years ago - November 12, 2022 at 12:18 am
Why do I need to give up my Facebook password just to share this when I already signed in to my Facebook account.
rumbidzai elizabeth 2 years ago - July 19, 2022 at 10:20 pm
l felt blessed and encouraged by this poem. God bless the writer.
Moses Ehinor 2 years ago - June 23, 2022 at 12:07 am
Simplicity and powerful
Denise Myles 3 years ago - March 6, 2022 at 10:52 pm
God has truly blessed me and my brother. We had great parents, both now deceased and this reading reminds me why I love the Lord, praise the Lord, thank the Lord so much! The Trinity is nourishment for my spirit. I can’t live without them! Amen.
Carla Mcdonald 3 years ago - December 13, 2021 at 6:30 am
Solid rock ?family church wise the rock bible humble follow one man of possible welcome to time blessed by God bless you
Carol 3 years ago - November 1, 2021 at 10:56 pm
I don't remember having been to this site before but had the link on my computer and was just looking over the things on my tablet and just read it. I hope God will bless whoever put this on the internet. I pray that God will bless you exceedingly abundantly above all you could hope or ask. God bless you!!! Smile. I'm so very glad that trials are but for a season and God can work all things for good. Thanks p.s. send me anything God puts on your heart but please be sure that's it Him.
John Walter Harrison 3 years ago - May 5, 2021 at 9:07 am
A wonderful long time friend sent me this poem....I love it! As I enter my 88th year I truly appreciate moving and unforgettable poems!
James Smith 4 years ago - February 1, 2021 at 1:52 pm
I luv it , very helpful with sum of my verses to learn , thank you .. all ..Moniee-Mon ???
Matthew A. K. Omole 4 years ago - January 10, 2021 at 1:11 am
This site is educating to believers in Christ. I love the site.
PAT 4 years ago - September 2, 2020 at 3:21 am
I love your site and if ok I have a blog where I put pics and poetry with your site linked I only have 2.402 followers but they can click on you to see more. I hope it's ok if you say no, I will not do it anymore I did a few times. God bless you. MY SITE name is from the darkness into the light the address is https://godandi.blog/
A varaprasad 4 years ago - May 28, 2020 at 3:06 pm
Yesterday night i got dream
It's very terrible
In that dream i was standing on sand
But this article gives strength
Thank u so much
Aaron 4 years ago - April 25, 2020 at 11:58 am
I love this!!!
Sharon 5 years ago - March 27, 2020 at 7:22 pm
It was very blessed.It really ministered to my heart
Earl Bowden 5 years ago - November 17, 2019 at 4:46 pm
Very good, Thanks so much for the word
Alex T 5 years ago - September 28, 2019 at 2:55 am
This is very true everyone should follow this.:)
Jean 5 years ago - August 13, 2019 at 12:49 am
Our pastor preached on this yesterday. Let's me know how much I have been in sinking sand. Going to build back upon the Solid Rock -Jesus Christ
BETTY NASAMBU 5 years ago - June 6, 2019 at 9:06 pm
lovely,with related verses.good work
A.S.PETER 5 years ago - May 18, 2019 at 7:41 pm
AM ONLY WONDERING WHY THIS TYPE OF 1896 TRUTH IS NOW NOT COMMON.
Magdeline 6 years ago - March 24, 2019 at 11:43 am
Simple powerful very effective.thank you very much for sharing such a blessed word.God bless you
Stephanie Chambers 6 years ago - March 8, 2019 at 12:29 pm
Such a blessing Thank You. Be Blessed.
Patricia Mallory 6 years ago - February 10, 2019 at 4:42 pm
Thank you for sharing this great outline, as I too plan to use this example for our Bible Lesson Jesus Is Our Rock!
susan zanis 6 years ago - January 28, 2019 at 1:26 am
Perfect for the lesson I'm teaching in Sunday school today about the wise and foolish man.
simon zolana 6 years ago - January 16, 2019 at 5:41 pm
it says we must obey his word, what exact word we must obey example so we can know for sure we are built on solid ground?
Anikuttan W h 6 years ago - December 12, 2018 at 6:37 am
Good
Judith oliver 6 years ago - November 27, 2018 at 3:06 am
My time has been well spent reading these spiritual stories, thankyou
Chhedi Mandal 6 years ago - September 30, 2018 at 2:28 am
Nice and full blessings
Marcel 6 years ago - September 24, 2018 at 8:46 pm
found this on Bing search and used it this morning at rebelplanetdispatchblogspot for the BIG storm that is about to hit USA and the world.
destiny 6 years ago - September 10, 2018 at 7:16 am
questions about the wise man?
B K Sangma 6 years ago - June 3, 2018 at 3:56 pm
Teaching is good and very clear. Only those who really do what Jesus says can know the truth. Thank you.
Philip Fawole 6 years ago - May 20, 2018 at 7:47 pm
Thanks for the exposition of God's word
Rev. Ataichy Tataichy 6 years ago - April 17, 2018 at 4:59 am
Need more lessons for preaching . Wants you to help with more interesting version to preach
James Taylor 7 years ago - October 22, 2017 at 8:29 pm
Building your faith on a sure foundation.
Dapal Tonny 7 years ago - October 12, 2017 at 4:57 am
For Sure Building Our Faith, Salvation, Truth Etc In Rock Foundation Is The Best. May God Bless You.
Helen 7 years ago - October 6, 2017 at 8:58 am
This is very helpful. Thanks a lot.
lihle 7 years ago - September 26, 2017 at 6:06 am
pls send stuff to my email every day
Mulumba Danstan 7 years ago - August 13, 2017 at 9:45 pm
may God help us as we build our "houses" of life. may we build on the rock-Jesus Christ
Tammy R West 7 years ago - July 11, 2017 at 6:41 am
I hap upon these looking for something else THANK U HOLY SPIRIT HE KNOWS WHAT U NEED BEAUTIFUL😘😘😘🙄🙄🙄
Olumide Adefope 7 years ago - June 29, 2017 at 3:32 am
Thank you very much for sharing! However, I think there's more to the parable of the two builders. This parable was a conclusion to a long sermon Jesus gave on the mount...Starting from Matthew 5, and if we can carefully read what Jesus is saying, we will see that none of us can actually do all that Jesus is requiring. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven", and immediately most of us think that all the Pharisees and Scribes of those days are evil! If we think that was what Jesus meant, that will be similar to thinking that all Pastors or teachers are evil too, because just like there are self-seeking Pharisees and Scribes in those days, there are also Pastor and teachers who are wolves in sheep clothing today. Rather, Jesus knows that the people acknowledge that the Pharisees and Scribes, who are entrusted with God's holy temple, teachers of God's law, were the most religious people. The people were probably saying to themselves, "who can do more than the Pharisees??". Therefore, when Jesus spoke this parable, He wasn't just telling the people what to do or what not to do, He was helping them to see how badly they are in need of a Savior! We as Christians are not better than the people of the world because of how good we keep the law of God. Just as there is only one difference between the two builders is the Rock, so it is that Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross is the only difference between us and the people of the world. It is with that Faith, and that Faith alone that we can begin to please God and follow Him!!! In conclusion, the Law of God is meant to be a mirror to show us who we really are and why we need a Savior, our Rock! We have been saved by Grace through Faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! The branches have to be in the Vine in order to produce good fruits.
Joan Hall 7 years ago - June 19, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Great Gems
Favoured Ann 8 years ago - February 17, 2017 at 8:45 pm
Its so inspiring and challenging.. Thank you
Lydia 8 years ago - January 15, 2017 at 8:44 am
I am so glad my house is build on the rock (Jesus Christ)
Jerry Bushell 8 years ago - January 13, 2017 at 7:51 pm
We assume we understand this story fully, but most of us don't! Sure, it's about where you build, isn't it?
No!
What do you mean - no?
Well actually it's about when you build.
How do you get that?
Think about the context. People didn't have steel spades & machines. You dug the ground with wood & stone. Israel had 2 growing seasons, the spring & the Autumn. In summer the ground would go rock hard. It was impenetrable with the tools of the day. Sure you could build with stones then, straight on the soil & the building would stand firm for a while. Bu in winter the same ground was like a quagmire & the same stones you';d laid in the summer would just sink! But winter was the time to build. You had to get right through the soil, past the quagmire to the rock.
Everybody listening knew that, so why did Jesus tell them?
To the people of that time & place this was so obvious, it clearly wasn't a lesson about building. It was using what everybody already knew as an anaolgy. This would have been absolutely clear to the people of the day.
Sadly, our technological advances have blinded us to the reality behind the story.
Thanks for explaining it again so clearly.
Dora Napoka 8 years ago - January 6, 2017 at 11:16 am
I love reading and sharing your readings and verses with the children at Tuluksak school story time hour's.I'm the Library Aide here since 1979.
Refujuio rosales 8 years ago - January 1, 2017 at 11:06 am
This is good to know God and Christ are helping us to build are lives on solid ground ..and to see how other's have not ...i see it in the town that i live in where contractors think of money by building houses are built on playa lakes and selling them to folks who feel they are paying for homes that cost more then they make but i feel we should look up to Christ for help to know its not where we live but how we should be living in Christ love and live for him and only him
Kanindra Narzary 8 years ago - December 15, 2016 at 3:34 pm
it was nice word and reference for me i thought that my self i will build my house. but when i read this passage i understood that nothing can do own our self.
through Jesus Christ only we can do.
thanks.
Christine Weatherby 8 years ago - December 11, 2016 at 6:03 pm
I am also going to use this while building gingerbread houses, for my Sunday school class. Thank you and God bless.
marcelina pineda 8 years ago - December 6, 2016 at 6:00 am
I will use this reading while building our gingerbread house in bible study.
Bitrus Audu 8 years ago - December 4, 2016 at 10:21 am
I am so glad that now I am full of joy. May his name along be glorify. Amen
Ratondrea 8 years ago - November 14, 2016 at 9:21 am
Good word.