Come, Listen, Obey

"I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built."  Jesus

"The Solid Rock" is one of the most well-known songs in Christian history.  I have memories of being a little boy, my dad standing in front of church leading us in these words:  "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Somehow, I always thought that to stand on Christ meant to believe in him. I needed merely to agree with his teaching and I was set.  Even just singing the song, "The Solid Rock," somehow made me feel more secure in Christ.  But more I studied what Jesus teaches regarding a life built on the rock, the more I realized that it has nothing to do with what I sing or say, but everything to do with what I hear and obey.  To be fair, Jesus assumes belief in him, for no man can obey Jesus if he doesn't first believe Jesus is telling the truth. But after belief, the three criteria Jesus poses in this passage have little to do with some past prayer, or decision to stand on Christ. According to Jesus, the foundation of our faith is not laid when we believe in him. That may be when we get the tools to start laying, but the laying of a good foundation is a lifelong journey, not of reciting creeds or singing songs, but of hearing Christ and following him. 

"I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it."  First, we must come to Jesus. It would be easy to emphasize only obedience, but an Army private has nothing to obey if he hasn't first heard the order from his commanding officer.  There is no obedience pleasing to God which doesn't first find it's root in the presence of Christ and a fresh hearing of his Word. Once we come, we must listen.  The best definition of prayer I've ever heard is "Attentiveness to God."  How often do we approach prayer only expecting God to be attentive to us?  But we pray primarily to hear and understand Jesus, the living and active Word of God. Finally, once we have sat at his feet and attuned our ears to hear what he says, we journal about it and move on. Wrong.  We must then, by the power of God's Spirit, do what Jesus says to do.  Jesus promised his disciples, "I will be with you, even to the end..." So be encouraged. God is not a commander who sends us away to fulfill his orders but a benevolent Lord who walks with us in order to achieve his purposes in and through us. Yes, believer, be encouraged. But disciple, be disciplined.  God wants you to have a solid foundation, but the only way to build that foundation is have a regular, persistent habit of coming to Jesus, listening to what he says, and then obeying his teaching.