Foundations

The only earthquakes I’ve ever experienced were mild and uneventful.  Even yet, it was rather disconcerting to think that the ground could shift under my feet.  We like to think of the ground as firm and unmoving.  Ask someone who has endured a major earthquake and you will find a certain mistrust of the very ground that we think is so dependable.  In places that endure frequent earthquakes, buildings are constructed differently to withstand the seismic tremors.  They have foundations that sway to absorb the shock and pendulums at the top to keep their taller buildings centered.   The key is to be rigid where it matters and to be flexible where it matters. 

So it is with life.  Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but we are living in a time where it feels like the very ground beneath our feet is shifting and shaking.  The moment we feel settled in one reality, a new challenge hits that almost knocks us over.  The political tug-of-war has lost its civility.  Social change is swift and unrelenting.  Long-standing morals once thought to be common in society are now apparently reversed.  Up is down and wrong is right.  Do you feel the shaking beneath your feet?  The question is, how does God’s church keep standing in the midst of such seismic change? 

We need to look at our lives and consider our foundations.  Are we so rigid in our ways that the house comes tumbling down when the world starts shaking?  Or, do we bend so much that we don’t really stand for anything?  The house comes down that way too.  The trick is to bend and not break, to stay centered while the ground shifts beneath us.  We need to know how to roll with the changes while remaining principled according to God’s truth, because following His way keeps our houses standing.

God is not impressed with all of our world’s moral and social gyrations.  He’s seen it all before.  This isn’t the first time the world was beset with wickedness.  God once flooded the earth because of that.  There is nothing novel about our culture’s gender and sexuality explorations.  He created us male and female and even after all of our scientific advances, it’s still the only way to get another human.  It all works best the way he made it.  Divisions between people, whether it be nations, ideologies or races isn’t earthshaking to God.  He’s the one who made a covenant to Abraham to be blessing to all the families of the earth, regardless of race or culture.

It’s really helpful to know God isn’t surprised by any of this, especially when we feel shaken by it all.  Sometimes, it’s everything we can do to just stay upright.  We’re forced to live in the moment and struggle to see the big picture.  But God has the big picture taken care of.  Think again about God’s promise to Abraham to bless all the families of the earth.  Over and over again, the ground shook beneath the promise, making it seem unlikely to happen.  Over and over again, God held the promise steady, showing that the promise is dependent on him, not this world.  Follow the promise to its pinnacle and you will find Jesus.

There, we will stand.