“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 6:46-49
Billy Graham taught the above Scripture verses this morning in his book, “Wisdom for Each Day.” As a few of you know, Billy Graham is my hero and the most perfect “imperfect” man I have ever known. His teaching for today comes down to the word obedience. Do we submit our minds and bodies to Christ as our authority, or do we just listen and confess to him and then do whatever we please? My study Bible states that confession, apart from obedience, is worthless.
Paraphrasing Billy, do we submit our minds to Jesus with what we think, meditate, read, or watch? Do we present our bodies as living sacrifices, or do our eyes gaze too long at someone, our tongues speak lies, and our sexuality drop us off the abyss of death? Jesus teaches in these verses that we should do what he says because it will provide a foundation against the problems we encounter. Otherwise, we will crumble against the forces of this world. Look at our world today: the economy, unprovoked wars, political upheaval, and just plain hate. We should do what Jesus tells us – it could lead us out of this mire. But it will take obedience to God’s authority.
My article today is heavy. Obedience to the Lord is something I am learning each day. We are not perfect like I mentioned above about Billy Graham. But I know I can do better; we can do better. If we start now, there is hope that the flood won’t knock us over when it comes. Let’s join together in love, prayer, and obedience to give hope to this falling world. We can use Billy Graham as our imperfect model and, better, Jesus as our “perfect” model and authority. Let’s love with all our might.
