Episode Details

The bathtub has arrived. A man enters into a newly built house carrying a heavy bathtub. The walls are finished, the smell of sawdust fills the air, and it's time to install the tub. He carefully lowers it into place, snug against three walls, then looks down the drain hole and says, uh oh, that's never good, especially coming from a plumber. Instead of seeing a drain, he sees a solid floor. Weeks earlier, the drain pipe had been installed in the wrong place because someone didn't follow the blueprint. The installer trusted his instincts instead of the plan. The result was an expensive and avoidable disaster. That same mistake happens every day in life. We ignore God's blueprint and build according to what we think is right. Scripture warns us about this. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14, 12. Jesus describes the true blueprint for life at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Using a construction analogy, he says, Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rains descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7, 24-26. In this picture, our life is the house, and Jesus' words are the blueprint. A blueprint tells you how to build properly. God's word tells us how to live wisely. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, David said in Psalms 119 and 105. Every blueprint comes from an architect. In life, we have an architect with a capital A, God Himself. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1, verse 1. Because He is our Creator, He knows how life is meant to function, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, Ephesians 2, 10. Yet many people treat the Bible as optional advice instead of binding design. Scripture warns against that mindset. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, James 1, 22. A builder who ignores part of the blueprint can ruin the entire project. In the same way, partial obedience to God leads to instability. Storms will come to every life. The difference is the foundation. A life built on God's word stands firm. If we want a life that endures pressure, trials, and uncertainty, Scripture gives us the answer. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it, Psalms 127 and 1. We build well when we build according to God's blueprint, designed by the architect who knows us best and desires what is best for us. ******* Hear more messages and find out more about Oyster Bay Church of Christ in Crawfordville, FL on our website: https://www.obcoc.org/ And here: https://pearlsofwisdomonline.org/