The Foundation
Do you ever have those days where you start at one end of a thought and it leads you in a direction totally unpredictable? I had one of those today. So let’s go on a journey and make some stops along the way.
Stop 1:
Yesterday in my bible reading I was reading the Matthew 7:24-27 passage where Jesus compares two foundations: a house built on sand that collapsed when the rains came, and a house built on rock that stood firm through the storm. As I was reading I had the refrain of a song go through my head. “I am on the rock... though the winds may blow, and though the floods may grow, I shall not be moved, ‘cause I am on the rock.” Anyone familiar with Christian rock of the early 90’s would know the band is Petra and the album is Beyond Belief. My sister had the album on a tape that I enjoyed listening to as a pre-teen.
Stop 2:
This led me to listening to the Petra top hits on Spotify. And I stumbled across a song I had not thought of nor sung in a very long time. And it transported me straight back to a very specific place. The year was sometime in the mid 1990’s. The setting was a school gym on a Wednesday morning. Chairs were set up to hold students for the school assembly, the younger grades closer to the front. At the front an overhead projector was set up. One student had the prized job of switching the transparencies. It would be chapel time. And so my mom (the school’s Special Ed Teacher, first aid, and chapel lead) would be up front with her guitar and a few of the older students. And this is one of the songs we sung.
“Red is the color of the blood that flowed down the face of someone who loved us so. He's the perfect man, He's the Lord's own Son; He's the Lamb of God, He's the only One, that can give us life, that can make us grow, that can make the love between us flow.
Blue is the color of a heart so cold that will not bend when the story's told, of the Love of God for a sinful race, of the Blood that flowed down Jesus' Face, that can give us life, that can make us grow, that can keep our hearts from growing cold.
Gold is the color of the morning sun that shines so freely on everyone. It's the sun above that keeps us warm, it's the Son of Love that calms the storm, that can give us life, that can make us grow, that can turn our mornings into gold.
Brown is the color of the autumn leaves when the winter comes to the barren trees; there is birth, there is death, there is a plan and there's just one God and there's just one man that can give us life, that can make us grow, that can make our sins as white as snow
That can give us life, that can make us grow, that can turn our mornings into gold; that can give us life, that can make us grow, that can keep our hearts from growing cold; that can give us life, that can make us grow, that can make the love between us flow.”
- The Coloring Song - Petra
- Click the link here to listen to the song on YouTube.
Stop 3:
Even in elementary school I loved a song with a solid message and clever literary repetition. As I went on this deep dive I was filled with gratitude. While my elementary school experience did hold challenges, particularly in the social arena, I am deeply thankful for the rich foundation of scripture memory, songs, and biblical literacy that still are with me today. I remember one teacher in particular. Grade 2: Mrs. Jurchen, the wife of the Lutheran minister in town. As a class we memorized Psalm 135 and learned simple multiplication; learned story after story from the Old Testament as well as the provinces of Canada; had the funnest spelling test system and also learned simple songs of worship. (Fun side story: It was Mrs. Jurchen that prayed with my sister to accept Christ when she was in Grade 2. Four years later, my sister would pray with me to accept Christ. So you could say she became my “faith-grandma.”)
Stop 4:
With a thankful heart, I was reminded of a quote I haven’t been able to shake. I heard John Mark Comer in a podcast interview share this stat from a Barna Group study of millennial christians from 26 different countries:
“The average [Christian] millennial, and this would be higher for Gen Z, consumes 3000 hours of digital content a year, ... and only a 150 of the 3000 is Christian content. Now I’m not saying we just need to listen to more Christian podcasts and that’s the answer, but if your ratio of secular input to Jesus-truth input is 20:1, that is a problem. There’s no way that’s not going to warp your faith, and your view of God and yourself and the world.” (The whole interview can be found on the podcast Dadville from April 26th, 2021)
I don’t know about you, but I know in the depths of my spirit when my secular to Jesus-truth ratio is off. I grow unsettled, impatient, confused, cloudy-minded, more easily angered, more prideful, untethered. Truly like my thoughts are being warped. Like my house is built on sand and I feel the rain drops on my head.
Stop 5:
Which brings this thought loop full circle. When the storms of life come, and they will come, I want my “house” so firmly built on the foundation that is Jesus that no matter how strong the gale winds, how vicious the rain, that when I come out the other side I am not only standing, but with hope and at rest. And I can only do this when I am filling my mind and fixing my eyes on Jesus-truth. I could take the foundation metaphor waaay deeper. (Get it? Deeper?) Perhaps another time.
Stop 6:
For now though, my thoughts turn to my children. What I want for myself I want for my daughters. For the foundation of their life to be built on biblical truth, not just in word but also in action. Which is why this year I have started scripture memory with Elizabeth. Also why our bedtime routine includes a time of prayer and reading the Bible and singing songs full of truth. I’m taping into the rich resources I was given as a child. And throughout the day when conflict arises or direction needs to be given I can refer back to what she is learning. We’re currently learning Micah 6:8 and having lots of good conversations about how to love kindness and walk humbly.
Stop 7:
And this is what I want for you, friend. It is the thing that drives me every week to my iPad to write. That you would read truth, forgetting my words but seeing God’s. That you would be reminded and encouraged by the simple gospel message found in the Coloring Song: that the perfect Son of God died for us to bring reconciliation between us and the Father by washing us clean. That you would build your house upon the firm foundation that is Jesus, our rock.
So as we round the journey towards home, I leave you with this:
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:5-8 (NLT)