Who does not like to take their shoes off and walk in the sand?  I believe that this is one of the most soothing experiences that there is for the physical body here upon the earth and that is to walk “bare footed” in the sand.  It feels so good to walk as sand “gets in between your toes.”  Being in sand is a fun place to be for people of many ages.  The older love to play volleyball in it.  The young love to make “sand castles” in it.  Sand is a wonderful creation of God and though we might like to walk on sand and even play in sand at times, is that where we want to be all the time?              
Now I will readily admit that sand is fun to walk on, but I will also admit that sand is not where I want to be standing all of the time.  “Why?” one might ask.  The answer is simple.  What is built on sand can quickly wash away.  Those “sand castles” do not last forever.  If I am going to build a house, I want to make sure that the house I build is not going to be washed away with a wave or two, but rather it is going to stand strong.  Now to make the house stand strong, I am going to have to have the foresight to build it on a solid foundation.
Let us think about our own lives.  I remember when I was very young in Bible class, singing about the wise man building his house upon a rock and how that the rain came tumbling down as the floods went up with the result being that the wise man’s house stood strong.  I remember also singing about how that the foolish man built his house upon the sand, how that the rain came tumbling down as the floods went up, and how that the foolish man’s house went “SPLAT!”  Now, this song is a very valuable song, because it is based upon the teaching of Jesus.  In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus said, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not:  for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:  and great was the fall of it.”
Now it is completely clear.  If we want to be spiritually strong, which we are commanded to be (Ephesians 6:10), then we are going to have to have a good understanding of what our purpose in this life is and that is to fear God and keep His  commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  We are going to have to listen to the Words of Jesus, our Rock (I Corinthians 10:4).  This is the only way that faith comes and that is through opening our hearts to God’s Word (Romans 10:17).  We are then going to need to do what God tells us to do in the Gospel of Christ (Colossians 2:14, James 1:22).
Now what will be the results of building our lives upon the good foundation that is Christ?   We will be wise (Ephesians 5:15).  We will be living the best life on the earth, fulfilling our purpose, and being happy here in general (John 10:10, I Thessalonians 5:16).  We will be able to save others and ourselves to make Heaven our home (Acts 2:40).  In summary, our lives will be strong enough to overcome any temptation, pass any test, and weather any persecution to keep our lives from going “SPLAT!”
-Jason Gann, TBC Online Instructor