Concrete Faith

I am in the process of building a courtyard in the front on my house. It is to be enclosed by a waist high brick wall. But the brick wall must be built on a firm footer. I have been reading about footers and foundations, how deep and wide it must be to support a certain size wall, the amount of cement in the concrete, the positioning of rebar for strength, etc. Since our house is near the gulf, our soil is mostly sand (not a good foundation for a wall) which makes a firm foundation even more important.

Building a brick wall is not much different than anything else we may work at. Preparation is crucial to success. If you are making clothes you know the importance of a good pattern. You cannot write a good term paper without doing the research first. You can't paint a house until the wood has been primed. You can't rebuild a car without a strong frame. A football team can't win a game unless they spend hours practicing. Preparation is necessary.

"I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." Luke 6:47-49

It would do no good if I had studied how to build a wall and then ignore that advice and build a wall on sandy soil. Knowledge is worthless if it is not put into action. This is true with God's Word as well. We could be at church every time the doors open and read our Bibles daily, but if we don't apply it to our lives, it is like building a brick wall on sand. Doomed! We must put God's Word into our lives.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:28-30, 33

If we want to be a Christian we must be earnest in the construction of our own foundation. If we fail, we are open to ridicule by those outside the church

-Jay Crook