Today’s scripture: Luke 6:46-49 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Brent Walsh):
One thing I really noticed in this passage is the image of the man who “dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock…” That seems like an awful lot of work to me!
Last summer, I decided I wanted a fire pit so I could enjoy a camp fire right out in my back yard. And why buy one when I had so many odds and ends in my garage that I could put together to make one? I managed to cobble together a fire pit with a sturdy wire basket, some flat rocks, and some cement to hold it all together. Once that was finished, I put it in my back yard on a tire rim and beamed with pride at what I had accomplished! Was I clever, or what??
When winter had set in, I decided to move my pride and joy into the garage, but when I tried to lift it, to my dismay one of the rocks from underneath the cement shifted and put a crack in the surface of the pit. As you can imagine, I didn’t have the nerve to try again. It’s still sitting out in the back yard waiting for my fire pit season to start again!
Now, I can assure you that for the amount of work I put into it, the fire pit served me well. And you couldn’t beat the cost — about $6.00! It will probably last for one more season of back yard fires before it will crumble and I’ll have to sweep the pieces into the trash can.
How often do we do the same thing with relationships we have? How much work are we putting into our spousal relationship? How much time do we invest in the relationships we have with our friends?
And here’s a scary question — how much work do we put into our relationship with God? Do we think that we’re going to be able to slap together a little Scripture reading, some smiles at church, glued together with a canned prayer at dinner time and say that we have a meaningful relationship with God?
If this is the case, the first strong wind that comes along in our life is going to shatter any pretenses we might have. Do I need to reevaluate my relationships? Am I determined to not slap them together with the skills I have sitting around in my garage? I want to do better than that. I want to build relationships that are meaningful and will last.
Thought for the day: Lord, help me to dig down deep and take the time to build sturdy foundations for my relationships — with You, and with other people — that will last a lifetime and beyond.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.