Building a House for Life (Matthew 7:24-28)

[Stephan Choe]

March 6, 2026

Key Verses 24-25, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Have you ever watched the construction of a house? First, a foundation is laid. This foundation (or base slab) bears the weight of the building as well as other loads, such as wind or snow.

Today, we often see prefabricated houses. A mobile crane assembles wall, ceiling, and roof elements, so that a prefabricated house is erected in just a few days.

Despite such options, durable, solid houses built from mineral materials like sand and bricks remain popular. These solid houses are resistant to moisture and offer excellent sound and heat insulation. Above all, a solid brick house is popular because it is stable and resistant to collapse.

If you want to build a durable solid brick house, you first have to lay the foundation properly. Building a solid brick house with a solid foundation takes a lot of time, effort, and money. I looked at the construction work at the Aldi supermarket on Markstrasse. The work of laying the foundation took months.

Skyscrapers are a symbol of New York. A prerequisite for a skyscraper is a stable foundation. Manhattan is a rocky island that is 21 km long and 4 km wide.

Empire State Building in NY  

We don't necessarily need to know how to build a house. But we absolutely must know that each of us is building a house of life and therefore needs a solid foundation for it. In fact, every person builds their own house of life with their desires, thoughts, words, and actions. We can choose a place as the foundation for our house of life: a sandy ground or a rock. The chosen foundation plays a crucial role in the security of our house of life.

Jesus tells us this parable to explain how important the choice of foundation for our house of life is.

In his parable, two builders appear: a wise builder and an unwise builder. The houses they have built all look stable. The crucial difference, however, lies in the invisible part of each house, namely the foundation. The wise builder built his house on a rock, like Manhattan; the unwise builder, on the other hand, on sand. During the dry season, both houses appear stable. The foolish man laughs at the wise man and says, “He spent so much money unnecessarily. You see, my house is sturdy enough even though I spent very little. It's wonderful that I can enjoy the sunshine on my balcony!”

But the dry season is over and the rainy season has begun. The sky darkens and it pours with rain. Rainwater flows everywhere. Despite the downpour and gale-force winds, the house on the rock is secure. The reason is simple: The house is built on the rock.

Then Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (24-25).

But what about a house built on sand? Because the torrential rain violently carried away the sand of the house's foundation, the house collapsed, and pieces of the wreckage were scattered everywhere. A beautiful house had become a ruin. It looked like a war zone.

Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (26-27).

We must choose the right foundation for our lives. We have two choices: either sandy soil or rocky ground. If we choose a sandy foundation, we won't notice any danger of collapse in good times. But when a downpour comes, our life will crumble. If we choose rocky ground as our foundation, however, we'll need to put in a little more effort to build, but our life won't collapse even in a downpour.

The good news is that God himself has already laid a rock as the foundation for our lives. God sent Jesus Christ, who took away all our guilt and rose from the dead. Jesus Christ is the true foundation for our lives (Isaiah 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6). Our house, built on this foundation, is secure despite various floods such as sickness, poverty, or death. Thank God that he has laid this secure foundation for us. Because God has already laid our foundation, we simply need to build our life on it. This allows us to build much faster than others who build on sand.

What does it practically mean to build our lives on Christ?

It means accepting Jesus Christ as the foundation of our lives, trusting him, and obeying him. We should believe that Jesus Christ took away all our guilt on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. Therefore, we can hear his word, believe in him and his word, and obey his word out of gratitude. A wise person believes in Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection, trusts his word, and obeys him.

But an unwise person does not want to believe in Jesus Christ. Even if they had heard the gospel, they would not want to believe in him or his gospel, nor would they want to obey him. At best, they can become a hearer of Jesus' word, but neither a believer nor a doer. They follow their unbelief or their own will.

The difference between the house on the rock and the house on the sand only becomes apparent during the rainy season.

Thailand has a dry season and a rainy season. The rainy season lasts from June to November, and the dry season from December to April. The dry season is the best time to travel in terms of weather.

During the dry season, the difference between a house with a rocky foundation and one with a sandy foundation isn't easily discernible. But during the rainy season, the difference becomes clear.

In our lives, too, there are dry seasons and rainy seasons. The rainy season takes various forms, such as temptation, misfortune, illness, or death. Ultimately, Judgment Day will come. Such a time sometimes arrives quite suddenly.

We want to learn how to build a house of life that won't collapse even in a downpour. To build such a house, we must first hear God's Word. Without hearing God's Word, there is no way to believe in Jesus and His Word.

Today, however, there are various ways to hear God's Word. For example, Bible study or attending church services. You can also hear God's Word on the internet or on television. Above all, we should read the Bible. Reading the Bible is the best way to hear God's voice.

But we should not only hear God's Word, but also accept it with our hearts. Accepting God's Word is called "faith." And we should live according to God's Word. In this way, Jesus is the foundation of our lives.

Many people expect to live for a maximum of about 100 years and then be finished. Unfortunately, most people don't expect the resurrection. Therefore, they lay the foundation of their lives in such a way that their house can only stand for about 100 years at most. They want to live happily for 100 years. Health, money, family happiness, etc., are considered the foundation of their lives. Therefore, they invest time, energy, and money in education, jobs, income, family, health, and so on. Unfortunately, they don't believe in eternal life in Jesus Christ. They don't recognize the necessity of having a foundation that can endure beyond their earthly life.

Their foundation is also not stable enough to withstand various upheavals such as illness, poverty, conflict, or death. When such upheavals come, their lives collapse hopelessly. They failed to lay a proper foundation, as Jesus says in verses 26 and 27,

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Each of us should now honestly answer the question: Is our life secure against such a downpour? Each of us should examine the foundation of our lives. If someone finds that their foundation is not stable enough, they should rebuild it. They should choose Jesus Christ as their foundation and build their life upon him.

Jesus Christ came into the world to lay a secure foundation for our lives so that we may live eternally and happily. Therefore, we should accept Jesus and his word as the foundation of our lives and build our lives upon it. Our lives will then stand securely for eternity, despite various floods.

Why are Jesus Christ and his word the right foundation for our lives? Because he is the Son of God, and his word is God's word. Through his death and resurrection, he has taken away all our guilt so that we could receive forgiveness. Through his resurrection, he has given us eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, we can rise from the dead, enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and dwell with Christ for eternity. In this way, our lives are built on the rock. Therefore, despite the storms of sickness, misfortune, and death, our house is completely secure. We should thank God for this rock and obey Him. This is our house of life, both for our earthly life and for eternity. We thank God for the firm foundation of our house of life. Amen!