Upon The Rock

WED., OCT. 26, 1988, 6:45 AM
FARM, STUDY

One of the parables I, as Jesus, told concerned building a house… upon a rock or upon sand. The house built on the sand came down and was destroyed as the storm raged, while the one upon the rock held fast during the same gale. The lesson, of course, is that you should build your life on the rock of relationship with Me rather than on the sands of science and other secular bases.

In light of the actual story it is ironic that if your Farmhouse is built on good quality lime rock the house will come down in the storm of need for that rock. Conversely, if the house is built on less solid dirt (not necessarily sand) it could remain for as long as you would reside here. It is hard to make analogies come out “as they should” in all situations.

Many Christians see the Scriptures in My Holy Bible as the rock upon which they build their faith and lives. This, of course, has much merit, for these Scriptures are special writings selected for their enduring value for human life. And yet the rock of these Scriptures can maintain women in a subservient role to men, even in the Church. Such was appropriate to Biblical times, but Scriptures which do not offer women an equal place in My Kingdom on earth are poor quality rock.

Another rock within the Scriptures is the teaching I, as Jesus, offered and which were recorded. Basing your faith solely on these Teachings can have you working your way to salvation. Only in the final discourse in John is there a suggestion of grace… of relationship with Me as being the rock rather than commandments, the jots and tittles of laws, and the lessons from parables.

All right, is grace a rock, then? Well, I tell you that it is closer, but it must be balanced with the works that I recommend. Grace enables you to live more selflessly, serving others more than self, but until you have achieved enough spiritual maturity to fully accept My grace it is, at best, a slippery rock and probably more like shifting sand.

The genuine rock is relationship with Me – as the Holy Spirit, as Jesus the Christ, or as Almighty God. You have one kind of relationship with Me. There are many others. There are times when it is difficult to hear Me initially, and without this clear contact your mind wanders hither and yon. This is not exactly rock-like. Early in Our relationship I tested you from time to time, deliberately withholding the Teaching to see if you would persist… if your trust could persist beyond immediate success. You came through that, so now there is scarcely a thought of not persisting in a Teaching, once it has commenced (even the process).

Consequently, this process We have developed is the rock upon which this teaching/learning relationship is built. Yet you can receive Teachings at times other than the early morning, in many places other than this study. (Your next Ruminations will illustrate that quite vividly.) You could write them with a pen other than this one, on paper other than this. This is just a developed ritual not a true rock. No single Teaching is a rock upon which you can base your life. All of these, together with the Scriptures and what you discern from Me in other ways form not the rock but the fertile soil in which your spiritual life grows.

As Jesus I once referred to Peter as “this rock,” and upon it I would build My church. Peter, of course, was far from a rock, in the literal sense. As a disciple he was not consistent. As a church leader he, fortunately, went against his earlier convictions and understandings (with help from Me, the Spirit) and agreed that grace could come to Gentiles as well as Jews.