I’ve have been thinking a lot about rocks. I’ve loved rocks ever since I was a child.

My earliest memory of stones is when I was four and lived in Townshend, VT. Standing on a covered wooden bridge with holes along the sides, I would throw stones into the river and hear them splash. I loved the feel of rock – the weight of them.  When I held them in my hand, I knew I was holding something strong and sturdy.

Years later, my sister and I returned to that house on the West River. The house was no longer there.  My playhouse was gone, too. But, the stone wall and the stone foundation were still there. I took a piece of the wall with me. I still have it.  Stones last.  Wood decays, water seeps away, sand shifts, but stones remain.

It makes me think about the story Jesus told. Here it is in Matthew 7:24-29 in The Message Bible.

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.

Lord, work your words into my life that I may be built on You, the Solid Rock. Don’t let me collapse like a house of cards. May I live what I teach. Amen