Beyond Castles in the Sand: A Summer Challenge

Reposted from 2009. -JB

 If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards” (Matthew 7:25-27 MSG).

I watched the little tike as he built his sand castle with great care and pride on the beach shore.  He must have been 5 years old.  Just as he was putting the finishing touches on his castle wall, a large boat pulling a wake boarder cruised by just a stones throw out from the shore.  Within seconds the waves hit the shore and wiped out the boy’s sand masterpiece.  And he ran to his mommy in tears.

Life went on for this little boy.  He soon got over the destruction of his sand castle and was soon laughing on the playground minutes later.

Unfortunately, many of us never completely grow out of the foolish practice of building fragile castles in the sand.