“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, l will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke 6:47,48).

Throughout Scripture, the analogy of a rock is used to represent our God. We understand a rock to be a place of safety, a lasting place, a refuge, a sure foundation. “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust” (Psalm 18:2). “Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock” (Psalm 28:1). “The LORD is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge” (Psalm 94:22).

This rock theme has surfaced time and again in Christian hymns, and why not? “O come, let us sing unto the LORD; let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1). Obviously the “rock theme” we are thinking abut here has nothing to do with modern rock music as it is known-not even so-called Christian rock-but only of this great “rock of our salvation.”

Perhaps the most loved “rock” song is the grand old hymn, “The Solid Rock,” and we can use its verses to structure our thoughts these next four days. The chorus reads:

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.

Our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us in our text that we lay a good foundation for our lives when we follow His teachings.

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 3:11). “The foundation of God standeth sure” (II Timothy 2:19). Since our foundation stands, we are able “to stand [even] against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). JDM