Blueprints: Building On Solid Ground
This week, as I reflected and prayed over what to share, I found myself thinking about construction—not of homes, but of lives. Just like our homes need strong foundations to support what we build on top of them, our lives need the same. Without a firm base, even the most beautiful structures eventually crumble. Today, we’re diving into what it means to build our lives on something that’s unshakable—and how Jesus shows us exactly how to do that.
Over the last nine weeks in our “Blueprints” series, we’ve walked through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This message wasn’t just an ancient teaching—it was (and is) a blueprint for a life that lasts. Jesus wasn’t giving rules to make life harder; He was offering a new way of doing life—a rock-solid way. And just like His listeners back then, we still get to choose how we want to build.
The Power of the Final Choice
As Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24–28, He ends with a challenge:
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock… But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand…”
This isn’t just a metaphor. It’s the final inspection—the moment where Jesus asks:
“What are you building your life on?”
Let’s explore three ideas that help us build a life on solid ground:
1. Be a Doer, Not Just a Hearer
Jesus opens this parable by saying that it’s not enough to just hear His words—we have to act on them.
How often do we nod along in church, agreeing with the message, but walk out and go back to life as usual? Hearing alone doesn’t change anything. Just like blueprints won’t build a house, knowledge without obedience doesn’t build a life that lasts.
James 1:22 puts it bluntly:
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
Think of obedience as the mortar that holds the bricks of our lives together. Without it, nothing sticks. But when we apply what Jesus teaches—when we forgive, love our enemies, serve others, seek justice—we begin constructing something that can withstand the storms.
2. Prepare for the Storms
Jesus doesn’t say if the storms come—He says when. Storms are inevitable. Whether it’s a health crisis, financial struggle, relational conflict, or grief, hard times hit everyone.
But here’s the key: the storm reveals the strength of the foundation.
If we’ve built on His teachings—if our lives are rooted like a tree with deep roots—we might bend, but we won’t break. Our obedience to God’s Word strengthens us for trials and helps us remain grounded in faith when everything around us shakes.
James 1:2–4 reminds us that trials grow our endurance and shape our character. The struggle isn’t a sign God’s abandoned us—it’s an opportunity to go deeper.
3. What You Build On Determines What Will Last
Let’s be honest: some of us have been building our lives on things that shift—like approval, success, control, or comfort. And when those things get pulled away, everything starts to collapse.
That’s why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:11:
“No one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.”
Jesus is the only foundation that’s guaranteed to last. Everything else—money, status, relationships, even good intentions—is sand in comparison. Our marriages, our families, our purpose—they’re only as strong as the foundation they’re built on.
The Final Inspection
During a house renovation in southern Colorado, I learned something that stuck with me: before you can move forward in construction, you have to pass each inspection. Electrical, plumbing, framing—all of it is checked. And at the end, a final inspection determines if the house is truly livable.
In the same way, Jesus’ closing words in the Sermon on the Mount serve as our spiritual final inspection. He’s asking: “Did you build your life on my words, or on your own way?”
It’s not too late to start building on the right foundation.
So… What Are You Building On?
David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23–24 invites God to do a personal inspection:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
We all have something we’ve been building—maybe our own kingdom, maybe we haven’t even picked up the hammer yet. But today is your invitation to reflect, realign, and rebuild if needed.
The good news? Jesus doesn’t just give us a blueprint. He walks with us through every step of the building process. And when the storms come—and they will—you’ll be standing strong.
Because the foundation you build today becomes the legacy you leave tomorrow.
Need a place to start?
- Revisit the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7).
- Ask God to reveal areas in your life where you’ve been a hearer but not a doer.
- Take one step this week: forgive someone, serve someone, spend time in the Word, worship with your whole heart.
The hammer’s in your hand. What will you build?