sand vs. rock

This is your life...

When I was at the beach on Saturday, there was a little boy near the water who kept building things out of sand. He'd construct castles, mounds, etc, and then he'd wait patiently for the waves to come crashing in and destroy his creations. Surprisingly, he seemed to rather enjoy the destruction. I guess that's a boy for you... :)

Seeing sand creations makes me think about Jesus. He talked about building sandcastles; He warned us to build our houses upon the Rock, so that it would have a solid foundation and not be swept away by the waters and storms. However, it's tempting to want to build sandcastles. Succeeding in school, traveling, and building new relationships are all things that I like; they are like bits of sand to me. Clearly, these are blessings, but if I were to try and build a sandcastle out of any of these things, it would eventually fade away because as Jesus pointed out, the foundations of these things are not solid. These are fleeting things. Eventually these blessings will fade, and while there are numerous other ones, they, too, are earthly things; they are not everlasting. While the boy at the sea may have enjoyed watching his sandcastle being destroyed, I know that I would not like that, and thus, I try to avoid building sandcastles. Still, even without constructing an entire castle, I can enjoy these blessings, the sand particles. They will eventually be stripped away, but my true foundation will not be lost. This is because Jesus Christ is the true foundation of my life, and my Savior is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Truly, He is a rock. Because He is a rock and not sand, my relationship with Him will never cease, and my spiritual home that is built on the Rock can withstand all of the crashing waters and the fierce storms.

Enjoy your blessings, and play in the sand today, but do not make a home out of it because eventually it will be washed away and gone, no matter how much time you devote to it. Instead, invest in your house upon the Rock because when the storms of life come, your house on the Rock can endure it all.

...are you who you want to be?