How Strong do you feel?

 

 

How strong do you feel? Very strong? Or not strong at all? There is more than one way to be strong. Some people have strong bodies. They can left heavy things or run for a long time. Other people have strong minds. They can stand up to people who bully them and don’t get confused when people want them to do something wrong

 

Most of us are a little bit of both. Sometimes we can do something but not everything. In this story, Jesus explained how to have a strong mind so that people couldn’t confuse you or make you do the wrong thing.

 

There were two men who both needed to build a house to live in, One man wanted a nice strong house but when he went and found out how much work it would take he began to think again.

 

“Build foundation? Everyone says I have to dig a really deep hole and put stones in it so the house will sit on something strong. A hole the size of the house ! sounds like a lot of work to me! I will have to think again…”

 

So he looked around for a place to build his house and saw two places. One was on a rock and saw two places. One was on a rock and the other was on sand. “ Well, rock might be strong but it’s going to be really hard work. I think I’ll build on the sand. You can shovel sand easily and my house will be finished quickly and with the time I save I can make it extra beautiful on the outside.

 

So off he went and very quickly his house was finished. He could sit in it and relax

and watch the other man.

 

The other man wasn’t lazy, he knew he should have a strong foundation and so, even though he didn’t love chipping rock.

 

It was very hard work – It took a long time. He was very tired-but he kept on working while the man in the other house on the sand, watched, and relaxed ( and laugh). After a while his house was finished too. They enjoyed their houses all through summer.

 

Then one day a really bad storm came and it rained, and rained and rained. There was a flood, water everywhere and the wind blowing really strongly. Both men ran inside their house to wait until it was over.

 

What do you think happened? Well the man who built his house in the sand began to feel a bit scared “what’s that?” he said to himself “ did the ground move? No don’t be silly the ground can’t move – I’m in a house” but the ground was moving because it was only sand and all that water was washing it away, little by little his house fell down..

 

The other man was ok though, because, although building on the rock seemed harder at the time, now when the weather was bad he was ok. His house didn’t fall down or leak or anything. He was nice and warm and dry and had no reason to feel afraid at all. Jesus said that people who take the time to listen to him and do what he says are like the man with the strong house. They don’t have to worry about bad times or troubles because Jesus’ advice will keep them safe. But people who don’t listen to him and practice what he says will have a much harder time when things go wrong.