How's The Foundation?

"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock.  The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house.  Yet, it did not collapse, because its foundation was on the rock."  (Matthew 7:24-25)  So, how's your foundation?

I read this story the other day and I was struck by the idea of a foundation.  In our houses, the foundation needs to be checked and inspected.  But do we inspect our spiritual foundation on a regular basis?  Are there cracks in our foundation?  Have termites begun to infest and eat away at it?  The awesome thing about attempting to be a proactive parent is, hopefully, our kids have started with a strong foundation; a belief in Christ and a home that models His commands.  But foundations are at risk daily.  Without care, they can decay.  A small sin, when given a little foothold, can eat away at the foundation until it is totally destroyed.  So, how do we help our kids first, realize their foundation and then, regularly inspect it?

As a beginning, they need to understand where they came from, what their origin is.  When Jesus was about to be arrested and the disciples were deciding whether to fight or not, He (Jesus) says something very poignant. ' "My kingdom is not of this world," said Jesus.  "If my kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews.  As it is, My kingdom does not have origin here."'  (John 18:36) 

Jesus' kingdom does not have its origin here.  Where do our kids believe their origin is, where they came from?  Mine believe their origin is in Redwood City, which is where they were physically born.  How do our kids shift their focus to believing their origin is in Jesus, in His kingdom.  Origins are found by consistent, persistent, grace-filled discipling.  Our kids need to know all that God has in store for them.  And that knowledge and shift of origin will come only through the reading of His word, praying, fellowship, and worship.  We, as parents, have the opportunity to put all of those items in our kids' paths and as they learn those spiritual disciples they are learning to inspect their foundations, to find where something may be out of order.  We know that Jesus is the cornerstone, the one the builders rejected, as it repeats in Luke 20:17.  On the whole idea of inspecting our foundations, I looked up the definition for cornerstone. 

Cornerstone:  Foundation Stone or Rock
First stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

I love the last bit.  Think about it for a minute.  With Jesus as our cornerstone, He becomes the point that all other things in our lives reference to, which in turn determines our structure or the way we walk with Him and through this world.

Kids love Legos, at least mine do.  And they learn with stories and actions and illustrations.  So, take some Legos, or in the case of older children, have some graph paper and a pencil.  Have them start with a single square and then build or draw around it, the best building they can draw or build.  What would happen if that square was removed or decayed?  Would the structure stand?  That's what Jesus wants to be for them, that all important stone.

"So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. "  (Ephesians 2:19-21)  Our children need to develop the habits of spiritual disciplines just as we had and have to continue.  Have you always read your bible?  Gone to church?  Prayed?  Worshipped?  These all had to be learned in the some way, shape or form.  These, and only these, provide the foundation from which all other things in their life will build on and reference back to through the winds, rains and storms that are bound to come.
"Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.  What house will you build for Me?  What place will be My home?  (Isaiah 66:1-2)

By His Grace