June 19, 2024 - Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭27

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:21-27 NLT

Lord, we often hear this passage as two separate stories, but I think that the illustration of building on the rock or sand is directly related to what you said right before it. If we are people who do all these good works, but don’t truly know you, we are building on the sand. If we build our house on the shifting sand of our own performance, it will not stand. We cannot achieve a relationship with you by what we do. It is a free gift that we receive by grace. It isn’t about what we do for you, it is about intimately knowing you. Our actions must come out of our relationship with you. It is only by truly knowing you and being known by you, that we build on the rock. Only what we build on the rock will last, everything else will eventually fall apart. Show us if we are living with a performance attitude and help us shift our mindset. Help us fall in love with you and serve you from that place. Help us build something that will last for generations to come.

In Jesus name, amen.