Matthew 7:24-27 24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Why did the foolish man choose to build on the sand? The truth is the foolish man actually thought he was the smarter of the two. Building on the sand meant he could easily dig in for support beams. Trying to mine through sections of the hard rock to create bases for supports would be a huge seemingly-foolish effort in contrast. Not only this, building on the sand also afforded this man the best view. He could gaze out at the ocean, taking in the serene view of ships sailing across the water. The resale value of the home would be incredible also, with its oceanfront view and beach access. No doubt the foolish man thought he was the wiser of the two. When we want something badly enough we will always make ways to justify it. In his enthusiasm for the positives of his home placement however, the man never considered what might go wrong. It was easy to dig into the sand to place his support columns, but just as easy for these to wash out. For something to last a long time it will take a long time to do the construction.
Manhattan
How did Manhattan in New York become so successful? There are multiple reasons of course, but one of these is the bedrock the district is founded on. The incredible weight of a skyscraper means that it must have the strongest foundation. Even tilting just a few degrees from the ground shifting is unacceptable and would be a major safety hazard. Manhattan's bedrock is very close to the surface, sometimes only a few feet under the soil. Perhaps the early settlers did not realize the good fortune they were stepping onto. To build a skyscraper without bedrock requires a massive concrete column known as a "caisson" to be poured hundreds of feet deep into the earth. The building can then be constructed on top of this. You can imagine the expense involved and risk if any mistake was made. New York's bedrock allowed the city to become as densely populated as it is today, bringing it to pre-eminence as the foremost city of the world.
Luke 14:28-29 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-
The Ocean Tower building in Texas was doomed to disaster from the beginning. The main supports were built in clay, which began shifting from the weight as the tower height (and thus weight) increased. Support columns began to crack and the tower took on a permanent tilt, making in uninhabitable. After all the effort and expense, controlled demolition became the only solution for the eyesore, causing over a hundred million dollars in losses. When the incorrect foundation is chosen, there is no way to save the building from destruction. Likewise, the things we build outside of Christ's standard must be destroyed so we can start over on the solid rock he is.
Tower of Babel
The world's first ambitious megaproject, the tower of babel, was a way Nimrod planned to show his power to the earth. By organizing the Babylonian masses, previously unimaginable human feats now became possible. Nimrod sold his people on the dream of entering heaven and becoming gods themselves. They would build a tower that reached to the firmament, mine through this hard light-blue layer, and challenge the gods. Nimrod knew he would run out of proper building materials partway up. He thus commanded the substitution of bricks instead of proper stone and slime instead of true mortar. Even more shocking though, is that for all their ambition heavenwards, no where in the passage is there any mention about the foundation itself for the tower. There was no thought put into this most crucial part of the design. The men were so focused on building their staircase to heaven, they forgot the most important step: first going down to build the proper foundation. If you want to touch heaven, you must first go down and become intimately acquainted with earth and mud. "The one who will be greatest must first be your servant" (Matthew 23:11).
It is no surprise the project was a failure and led to the dispersion of the men throughout the earth; the exact fate they hoped to avoid.
Rock vs Sand
Christ is often depicted as a foundation rock. The Chief Cornerstone (we will go more in depth on this name for Christ in the future article, The Philosopher's Stone).
What is the difference between rock and sand? They have the exact same chemical composition. The only difference is the structure. Sand is just rock that has abandoned its former unified structure and been crushed up into a disorderly mass of small particles. This is like a person who picks and chooses the bits and pieces of the Bible they prefer to follow. This person wants to stay in control, not yielding all of themselves to God. Rather than building a strong foundation on the rock of the complete gospel of Christ, they focus on their favorite parts and hide from the verse that go against their lifestyle. Cherry-picking a verse here and a verse there makes for a weak structure built on bits and pieces of the Bible like a collection of small particles of sand. When trials come, the structure of their faith collapses because that person has been reading all the positive verses about blessings 30x but ignoring the passages that prepare for trials and teach on enduring hardships like a good soldier. The person becomes confused at how God could go against his word, not realizing that he has only been reading a small part of the word and God is actually doing exactly what he promised in the Bible, which includes both the good and the unpleasant.
James 2:10 "he who breaks a part of the law is as if he broke all of it."
Foundation of Apostles and Prophets
Ephesians 2:20-21 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
Biblical apostles have the harshest dirtiest role and experienced the most deprivations and persecutions. Modern missionaries have an apostolic function and similarly they experience some of the greatest hardships and sacrifices.
God founded his church on apostle Paul, inspiring him to write one-fourth of the New Testament as well as lead the primary missionary activity. Peter was originally chosen for this role, but resisted God's leading too many times and had to be replaced. As the foundation for the church, Paul had to experience many of the worst persecutions and hardships. Here it is detailed in scripture:
2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Are they ministers of Christ?-I speak as a fool-I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness
The Apostle Paul was one supernaturally tough individual. He had to go up against the Jewish establishment as well as corrupt leaders in the Roman Empire who held him captive hoping he would pay a bribe for release. He even faced battles with some of the very churches he planted; opposition followed him everywhere. But Paul was firmly rooted in his conviction to do what was necessary to advance the kingdom no matter the cost. His foundation in Christ's sacrificial essence was unshakable. Any lesser foundation and Christ's church would have shattered before it had a chance to even stand up.
Many assigned to work with Paul did not have the same strength and were built instead on the foundation of shifting sand. We see this in Paul's plea to Timothy for help in the manpower shortage in the ministry:
2 Timothy 4:10 Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica-Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me.
For the all-important mission of preaching the gospel to the nations, only Luke had stuck with Paul in the end. Everyone else had betrayed and abandoned the apostle. Satan must have been sending innumerable thoughts of discouragement and quitting the mission toward Paul but thankfully for the world, the apostle kept going. Many do not have this fortitude. In the Parable of the Sower, Christ describes a kind of Christian who seems to grow fantastically at first, but withers as soon as the trials and hardship come. Many of those around Paul were unfortunately the seed with its weak foundation in stony places:
Matthew 13:20-21 he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.