A Strong Foundation and a Great Story

Eugene Petersen's contemporary translation of the Bible shares this from Luke 6:

These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. "If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss."

Words that ring true to every person, but take on added significance with the news this past Sunday that some of our neighbors are having their house razed in order for a new one to be built. The crew from Extreme Home Makeover is just a few miles up the road from us working round the clock this week as they build a new home for the Williams family.

Julie and I have tuned into this show on many a Sunday night. Our boys love staying up a little late to see 'the rooms' revealed, and we love to watch the stories of transformation. We both refer to this as the 'most redemptive show on television.' I believe their work gets at many of the essential ideas found in the Gospel message of the Christian church. They seek to provide sure foundations for families - all of who have known significant struggles but are sustaining in the midst of them - in order for them to continue on achieving their goals. Whether it be to raise their families well, to serve their communities, to educate, to inspire, etc they have thousands of volunteers who give tirelessly in order to achieve a goal. The reality of this reality-show is that great things are achieved because of the sacrifice and teamwork of shared efforts.

I'm proud of the dozens of folks from our congregations and community in the middle of the work this week to lay a sure foundation for this family. I believe we are all called to similar ministries of redeeming lives. Not all in construction, certainly few that makes prime-time television, but every person seeking to build up others in order that God's Kingdom be established, on earth as it is in heaven.