A well built life!

Reflecting on Luke 6:46-49

"The torrent could not shake it, because it was well built." (Luke 6:47)

Storms are inevitable in life, but collapsing in them is not.
Jesus suggests that it is possible to survive the storms.
The question is whether our lives are well built or not.
Are we standing on something solid?
Are we building with reliable building materials?
Are we maintaining, repairing and upgrading it as needed?

What does this analogy mean when applied to how I live?
Jesus highlights the foundation; is it on rock or sand?
He explains that His teaching is solid like a rock.
What He taught, and how He lived it out, is a well built way to live.
It reflects God’s original creation design, and it was ‘very good’.
Jesus based His life on the core commands: love God, love people.
Love is both the foundation and the construction material.

I am comforted by the love of God that holds me securely.
We are loved by God; there is no more solid truth.
Nothing can separate us from this love, no torrent can shake us from it.
It is not based on our own goodness or performance (shaky at best).
It is based on God’s loving faithfulness, which endures forever.
Knowing and clinging to this is something solid to hang on to.
But it is not my grip on it that counts, but His grip on me:

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12)

I am also convicted by the love of God and Jesus.
As I reflect on it, I am aware of my own shaky love for God and others.
If my confidence is in my own love and faithfulness, I am in trouble.
When the storm hits, I start to break down, I lose my grip and falter.
When people attack me, or let me down, or bad things happen to me…
When my comfort or safety are at risk, I look for easy ways out.
I compromise on patience, kindness, gentleness, compassion.
My words and actions become self-serving.
But this is NOT a well-built way to live.
I admit it, I do not love like Jesus teaches, or like Jesus loves.
Thankfully, when my grip is weak, His grip remains strong.
His love compels me to keep on aiming for love.

This is where Jesus is calling me in these words.
He invites me to come to Him, hear His words and practice them.
Personally I believe the church today needs to spend more time with Jesus.
We spend too much time studying the bible, but not studying Jesus.
It is Jesus’s message, not Moses’s or Paul’s, that is the good foundation.
Those are but God-inspired shadows; the reality is in Jesus (Colossians 2:17).
Jesus invites me to come to Him and to receive God’s love.
In that loving embracing, He will teach me about what love looks like.
In my specific situations, together we can work out the loving thing to do.
But then He calls me to actually practice doing it.
Practicing involves trial and error, doing it imperfectly.
A piano student who practices gets it wrong many times.
But persistence will perfect their skill, and they will get better.
Jesus knows my love is weak, and He is patient with my wrong notes.
He lovingly encourages me to keep at it, with His help.

I do want my life to be well-built on the foundation of His love.
I do want to use love as the construction material for my life.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Your love is my confidence, the torrent cannot shake it. My love is my commitment, my shaky building efforts on Your love. I choose to come to You, to listen to You, and to practice loving with, like and for You. This is a well-built life.