*STORMS TEST THE HOUSE*
`The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matthew 7:25`
IT IS IN THE STORM that the soundness of the house is revealed. A foundation is not a glamorous thing. No one visits a house and says, “What a great foundation you have here.” No one even knows. Until the storm. And the ultimate storm that Jesus referred to is the last judgment. One day our lives will be scrutinized by God. Every beam and timber, every word and deed will face scrupulous examination. One day the truth of our houses will be revealed. Every decision you make goes into the building of your house, your life, so you cannot violate Jesus’ teachings about the way things are.
May be you use manipulation and anger to get what you want from your spouse or even your family. You cannot live in these relationships; they cannot become a part of your house. May be you cheated in order to get a good grade, to win applause, so that I can get a degree from the right school. But precisely because you cheated, the grade and the applause and the degree are robbed of whatever meaning and fulfillment they might have had. This becomes the truth about you. If I do not know it today, the day is coming when it will be made plain. We all face the storm. To every student comes examination day. A loving teacher doesn’t try to spare the student from this, but rather prepares the student for it. Examination day simply makes apparent what is already reality. No matter how painful it is to face reality, it is never better to hide from it.
The day of judgment—the final story—is simply another way of talking about the day when reality will be finally, fully, utterly apparent.
Your brother in Christ,
Apostle Ashok Martin