Sandy Brackets

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them they will be compared to a wise man who builds his [marriage, recovery]upon the rock.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and the [trials of life] burst against the [marriage, recovery]and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who build his [marriage, recovery] upon the sand.  And the rain descended, and [trials of life] blew, and burst against the[marriage, recovery] and it fell, and great was its fall." - Matthew 7:24-27 When I read this, I realize a couple things.  I can put just about anything into those brackets.  What am I trying to build in my life? A marriage? A recovery process? A family? A ministry? A portfolio? A career? A relationship or friendship? The list could go on and on, but the reality is the same; build it on the rock, on Jesus, and it will withstand the storms and trials of life that pound against it, but build it on the sand and it will inevitably fail.

So the question is what qualifies as 'sand'? If I am to avoid building anything upon it to save from all of it washing out beneath me then it is important to determine what things would be classified as "sandy" foundations out of this metaphor.

The answer is easier to see and harder to live out than it would seem.  By implication of Jesus being THE rock upon which to build, it is to the exclusion of everything else.  That means that anything but Jesus is sand.

"But what about [insert any actual 'good' thing]?"

No matter how good it may be, only Jesus is the rock; "all other ground is sinking sand."

'All other ground is sinking sand.'

What am I building my marriage on? My ministry? My friendships? If its not on Jesus, its sinking sand and it will not withstand the blows of life.

The storms WILL come, and life WILL happen.  Will everything I have build be washed out from under me?