Is your house built upon the Rock?

The Sunday School classic "The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock" is unlikely to lead to crying.

Written in 1948, generations of children enjoyed it primarily due to its exaggerated actions and the finale of a big crash at the end.

Musically, the song is dated, but it still functions as an easy song for pre-schoolers to learn. The message it contains, however, is anything but easy.

Building your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, our Rock, is essential, but the consequences of rejecting Jesus are uncomfortable.

And, actually, the ending of this song - with the big "crash" – is anything but fun... Children’s songs are not known for reducing adults to tears – apart from those sentimental occasions when small children perform at primary schools. Yet, I found myself deeply moved in a family service by the prospect of destruction for those who hear God's words and do not put them into practice.

Jesus told this parable as a stark warning. He chose to end the Sermon on the Mount with this story. It matters:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are 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 6v46-49).

Looking back, I know many who initially listened to Jesus but drifted away. Among them are some whom I love dearly and long for them to turn back, and so this simple children’s song made me cry.

In recent years, a strange (not usually sung) third verse has been added to the song, saying that if you build your life on Jesus, blessings will come down as your prayers go up.

On one level, this is true - with Christ as our foundation, we enjoy every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. However, the promise of blessings coming down when we pray has a strong whiff of prosperity gospel.

After our family service on Luke 6v46-49, one keen young man said he had always thought this story was about how your life would be secure in the here and now as a Christian rather than about eternal salvation. That belief will lead to a fall. Christians are not immune to suffering and struggle in a fallen world.

Although, having said that, social research frequently concludes that those with faith have greater well-being, and Christian values bring greater stability to society overall.

We need to teach our children foundations that will stand for eternity. They need to understand that this world is fallen, that evil exists, and that nothing other than Jesus Christ is a rock on which to stand.