A few weeks ago we took my son and his family to East Harbor Beach on Lake Erie.  Our grand-daughter, Erin had never seen a beach before because in St. Louis, where they live, she had only swam in pools.  She was quite funny to watch as she and her daddy built their very first sand castle.  It wasn’t fancy, but it did have a tower and a moat.  When the waves came in the moat filled with water.  When a big wave came in, the castle melted away.

The Bible tells us a story about building our houses on sand.  In Matthew 7:26, we are told that a wise man builds his house upon the rock and a foolish man builds his house upon the sand.  The Rock that we should build upon is Jesus.  He will provide a safe place for us.  Even when the storms of life assail us, we can stand strong.  Jesus is our strength, our high tower, our deliverer, and our constant hope in all situations.

Building anything on sand is risky business.  Sandy ground is great for growing some crops, but not for building on.  We have all seen news reports where whole houses are dumped into the ocean because of too much rain.  These were beautiful buildings, with all kinds of expensive woods and decorations, but that didn’t matter.  When the rains came, the house fell.

Our spiritual houses also must be built on solid ground, the Rock.  The Bible has all the answers we will ever need on how to live and walk as a Christian.  It’s pages don’t change with the weather.  The rain does not dampen it’s truth.  You either believe it is God’s Word or you don’t.  We can’t take the portions we like and discard the ones we don’t.

The sand we often try to build on is our human understanding.  Knowledge and understanding are not bad in and of themselves.  However, when our opinion over rides God’s word we are walking on shifting sands.  Sand is good for many things, building is not one of them.

Playing in the sand can be so much fun.  It makes wonderful memories for our family.  There is no better place to be than sitting by the ocean or lake to meditate on the things of God.  I find it especially refreshing.  Just don’t expect your castles to be there next week because they will have returned to the bottom of the sea.