The Man Who Built His House Upon a Rock

I'm supposed to be studying. But I'm blogging.

What can I say? I'm weak. :(

Anyways, there's this story that I (re)read just now that I wanna share with you guys.
Forgive me, all non-Christian friends, but bear with me. I find it darn interesting! :P

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Matthew 7: 24-27

Behold, there was a man who built his house upon a rock.

When he had finished building his house upon a rock, he laughed, saying, “Oh, how wise I am to build my house upon a rock! And how foolish is the man next door who built his house upon the sand! For it is written that when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon these houses, the one founded upon the rock will fall not. But great will be the fall of the house built upon the sand! Oh, ha-ha-ha!”

So laughing, the man who built his house upon a rock went into his house and locked the door. “Now I will relax and wait for the storm warnings,” he said, “for my house is founded safe upon a rock.”

He did wait. And he waited and waited.

Nothing happened.

There was no rain, no flood, no wind – not even a mild drizzle.

“Hey, wait a minute,” said the man who built his house upon a rock. “There’s supposed to be a big storm, and the house built upon the sand is supposed to fall down. Everybody knows that.”

So he watched the sky, hoping for a hurricane or at least a major hailstorm; but there was nothing.

“Well,” said the man, perplexed. “I’m sure that storm will come along any minute now. In the meantime, that man who built his house upon the sand must be pretty nervous. I’ll bet he’s having a terrible time in that flimsy little house of his!”

Chuckling smugly, he looked over at the house built upon the sand. He expected to see his neighbour pacing anxiously back and forth, worried about a storm. But the neighbour was smiling and laughing, making sand castles with friends in front of his house. They all seemed to be having a wonderful time!

“This is outrageous!” said the man who had built his house upon a rock. “Those people should be miserable, not happy. They should be begging for shelter in my house, hoping to escape the rain and the floods and the wind!”

He continued to listen to the weather reports, waiting for the storm to arrive; but still the skies remained clear.

One day, however, the man heard noises from next door. They were the noises of pounding and yelling. “Aha!” he said. “At last the storm has come, and my neighbour’s house upon the sand is falling! How great will be the fall of it!”

But when he rushed to the window, he discovered that his neighbour was turning the house upon the sand into a luxury beachfront resort. The neighbour was grinning from ear to ear, wearing an expensive suit, studying blueprints, and directing work crews. Soon a fancy car drove up, and a beautiful woman dressed in a mink coat got out and gave the neighbour a kiss.

“Where is that storm?” bellowed the man who had built his house upon a rock. “The wise man builds his house upon a rock, the foolish man builds his house upon the sand, and the rains come tumbling down! Everybody knows that!”

Behold, the rains did come tumbling down. But they tumbled only on the house that had been built upon a rock. Not a drop fell on the house that had been built upon the sand.

“Why me?” moaned the man who had built his house upon a rock. “My house may stand firm, but I have to patch the roof, clean the gutters, and bail out the basement. What must my neighbour do? Nothing!”

So it was in the months and years that followed. The man who built his house on the sand got richer and richer, more and more successful, happier and happier. The man who built his house upon a rock patched the roof, cleaned the gutters, and bailed out the basement.

Finally, years and years after he had built his house upon a rock, the man threw up his hands. “I give up!” he said. “I’ve waited and waited, watched the sky, patched and cleaned and bailed. A record rainfall has descended on my house, and there’s never been so much as a mist on my neighbour’s. Any fool can see that there’s not going to be any storm.” With that he packed his suitcase and went next door to the luxury beachfront resort built upon the sand. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” he said.

That night, of course, the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon both those houses. The one that was built upon the sand fell; and great was the fall of it.

The other one fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.

Too bad nobody was home.

Taken from Joan 'n' the Whale by John Duckworth
(I have the book - it's a compilation of thought-provoking
short stories like this one if anyone is interested in borrowing :P)

Makes you think, no? :)