“… and it fell, and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:27)

In Jesus’ story of the houses with two foundations, He shares how “the house that was built on the sand” stood for a time.  But later, when “the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and slammed against that house”, He says, “It fell, and great was its fall.”  Here is a word of wisdom:
“That house”, Jesus tells us, that was built on the sand, represents a person who hears the word of God but does not act on it.  That “house” might also represent a home, a business, a nation, or an entity, which does not obey God, but appears strong, successful, and prosperous — for a time, just as for a time that house on the sand stood.

Yet there will come a time, Jesus says, when “the rain … the floods … the winds” slam against that house.  Things will change. Tragedy will strike.   It WILL happen — to everyone, as we saw in yeseterday’s devotion (here).  The house “built … on the rock” “did not fall.” But of those who “did not act” upon the word of God, Jesus said, “great was its fall.”

It is note that the fall of this house was “great” — no matter how much they had “heard” the word of God, or how much “lip service” they may have given to it.  If they did not build their lives on obedience to the word of God, that “house”: that person, that family, that institution, that marriage, that nation, that entity, that was not built on obedience to the word of God WILL HAVE A GREAT FALL!  You can count on it! No matter how strong, how prosperous, or how successful they appear now; if a person or group is not built upon a commitment to obey God’s word, they WILL one day face severe storms, and they WILL fall. Watch and see. The ultimate fall of the house that is built on the sand is inevitable.