Word to the Wise
Thursday, December 2, 2010 - Thursday in the First Week of Advent
[Isaiah 26:1-6 and Matthew 7:21, 24-27]Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal rock! [Isaiah]<br /> Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock! [Matthew]
The image of "rock" for God has always been a favorite of mine. I have lived a number of years in the west and southwest of the U.S.A. and have come to appreciate the grandeur of the mountains as well as the rocky soil that one finds everywhere in those areas. For some the image is not as helpful because they find rock to be hard and cold and threatening! I look to the solidity and grandeur! I know that forces even greater than those rocks exist and indeed created those very rocks or mountain ranges like the majestic Rocky Mountains! I suppose I'd be even more awed by the Alps, Himalayas or Andes.
It is the "there-ness" of rock that seems to touch me. God is "there" and can be relied on. Faith becomes the rock of my life because "there" is my relationship with God. Advent calls attention to the fact that God has kept a promise that lasts forever by becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of this promise becomes the "rock of salvation." I'm sure that if I were to check a "concordance" to the Bible, I'd find many other examples. However, this is not simply a matter of gazing at a rock and being edified. Jesus speaks of listening to his words and acting on them, so I can't just sit and look. If there is rock under my life, I can walk with confidence toward what needs to be done in Jesus' name. The "rock" of God's promise will be born once again for us in this season. AMEN