Rock Solid

I returned to the Bible study Open Table the other night as planned. What I didn't realize though was how God was going to speak to me, how powerful the scripture and discussion was going to be. Everything was good, from the start my mind was racing with answers to the questions that were posed. One question/scripture really caught my attention though and it was the 7th question and the scripture came from Matthew 7:24-25. The scripture reads: (Jesus says) "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock." Now, as soon as I read this I started thinking about some of the weddings I have been to in the last year and a half, and stay with me as I break this down. At some of these weddings instead of doing the traditional lighting of the Unity Candle, the Bride and Groom have down a "mixing of the sands". What this generally looks like is the Minister takes a rock and places it in a glass vase to signify Christ being the Eternal Rock that this marriage will be built on. There are many scriptures that reference God as being the Eternal Rock on which we should build our lives such as the one above and one of my favorites Isaiah 26:4. The Bride, Groom, and Minister then proceed to each dump a different colored sand over the rock, the bride and groom's sands are colors of their choosing, but the Minister's sand is white to symbolize the purity, grace and mercy that comes with two lives becoming one in Christ. All three are poured in simultaneously, mixing together to show that these two have become one in Christ. The vase is then sealed with wax so the newly weds may keep this as a memory of that day. Now there is a reason this verse applies to all of us and God placed a different idea on my heart. Let me ask you this, should there only be a rock in the main vase? Should only the unity of two lives becoming one be built on the Rock Eternal? I say simply, no. Both the Bride's vase and the Groom's vase should each contain their own rock. We should be building our daily lives on the Eternal Rock so that we are much more stable and balanced when we are united with the person God made to perfectly compliment us. Why would you want to try and stick two unstable foundations onto a solid piece of the puzzle, that can't hold both people without tipping one way or the other? The tipping is what causes separations and divorce, heartache and headaches. I think it is crucial that our generation build our own houses on a solid foundation daily, that way we can add that experience to the vase, and stand a little more firmly on our Rock, our Creator. Why don't we challenge ourselves on a more daily basis to build our lives on the solid foundation of Christ? I'm not saying that no one does this, I just don't think it's as prevalent as it should be, I know it's something I have struggled with. Take this challenge with me, each morning wake up and start your day with Christ, eat lunch with Christ, take your coffee breaks with Christ, spend time at the gym, in the car, in your room, or at your job with Christ and fully focus on that time. See if your life doesn't change... Grace and peace