My enjoyable years of service on Okinawa came with the trauma of typhoons. Jim worked all night at our radio station. When he left at 6am and arrived home during a violent typhoon, he found his bottom level apartment flooding and the foundation collapsing. He called for help. Several of us raced to his place and helped get his wife and daughters to safety, but everything else they owned was lost. It all would have been different if his home hadn’t had a faulty foundation.
Jesus’ story about the houses built on sand or on rock gives a vivid picture of the difference between a weak and a solid foundation. We learn that trying to short-cut our faith eventually will lead to collapse. The hymn How Firm a Foundation says, “When through the deep waters I call you to go,/ The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,/ For I will be with you, your troubles to bless,/ And sanctify to you your deepest distress.”
Jim and his family survived the storm. Their life came back together in time. Most importantly, his foundation of faith was solid.