In this parable Jesus describes the storms of life as a matter of fact. He does not say “If” those storms come. Twice he says, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.”

So we can be sure that our life’s foundation will be tested. There’s no getting around it. The question is whether the foundation will stand up to the test. Have we chosen to build on a firm foundation, or not?

Interestingly, many of the ­houses in our Vancouver neighborhood do not have a firm foundation. While some areas in the city have solid rock to build on, our neighborhood is built on a peat bog near a lake! You can just imagine some of the slanting floors and leaning walls in older homes that are not built on deep pilings.

If our spiritual houses, which are being built in our hearts and minds, are solidly based on Jesus and his Word, we can have complete confidence that no matter what happens, our souls are secure. This means grounding ourselves in Christ every day and making wise choices through the guidance of his Spirit before the storms of life come. Only in him can we be assured that our foundation is rock-solid.