For Ladies …
Teaching With Song
Ginny Lallance
Luke 7: 46-49 – And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat, vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
Many times have we sung with our children the song about the wise and foolish men building a house. What great lessons there are in those words! The children love to sing it because they can make a loud noise when the foolish man’s house falls. What are we teaching them about these two houses?
There are so many object lessons in Jesus’ parable. The wise man is a Christian, but the foolish man is one of the devil’s followers. They both heard what Jesus said, and both built a house. One dug deep into the Word and made sure his foundation was laid upon a rock. 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us that foundation is Jesus Christ. We know that, many times, the storms of life overwhelm us, and our house struggles to stand firm. The winds and floods of life that threaten to destroy our house can beat with such a furious force that, once the storm has passed, we marvel that our house was not even shaken. It is then that we realize we built on a Solid Rock Foundation that is none other than Jesus Christ!
Let us look at the foolish man’s house. He had heard about building on a Solid Foundation but decided to “cut corners” and built without a foundation. He, too, faced the storms of life. His house also was buffeted by strong winds that beat furiously against it. What happened? It was evident from the start that, with no foundation, it was doomed. Notice in our scripture from Luke 7:49 that Christ says, “… and immediately it fell.” Even if it had been built with what the man thought was strong lasting materials, this house with no foundation would have been ruined.
James 4:17 speaks directly to that foolish man. “Therefore to him that knowth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” He did not spend much time in preparing his building materials because the devil convinced him it was not necessary. How sad when he has to explain the reason his house fell! “Cutting corners,” when it comes to one’s eternal salvation, is nothing more than an act of rebellion against what Christ said in John 14:15: “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
So, let’s sing with our children and take a few minutes to teach ONE POWERFUL LESSON! - Route 2 Box 177, Belington, WV 26250. mrmrsl@meer.net