Let’s say that two men attend the same congregation and both enjoy the habit of faithful attendance.  They are early to Bible class and present during the morning and evening worship.  The men also look forward to the midweek Bible study.  Externally, they look the same in their character:  good fathers, loving husbands, and diligent employees.  But there is a difference.  One of the two would quickly crumble in the face of adversity.  Although he is faithful in attendance, this man responds to adversity like the seed on rocky soil, “and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Mt. 13:21).  How can two men who live similar lives respond differently to life’s inevitable trials?

Jesus closes His Sermon on the Mount addressing this question.  After offering many words of instruction, He exclaims, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared…” (Mt. 7:24).  The Lord then contrasts two different men:  the one who builds his house upon the rock and the other who builds his on the sand.  When the rains, floods, and winds slam against the two structures, the wise man who built his house on the rock remains.  Concerning the fool’s, He simply says, “and great was its fall” (v. 27).

Internally, the difference between a wise man and a fool is the foundation, one is firm and the other is faulty.  So how can one firm up his foundation?  There is a principle that is true in all of life.  Joe Frazier understood it and applied the truth to boxing:  “You can map out a fight plan or a life plan.  But when the action starts, you’re down to your reflexes.  That’s where your road work shows.  If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, you’re getting found out now under the bright lights.”  Christian discipline and practice make for a firm foundation.  We lean on our reflexes in the face of trials.  Ultimately, a person will react in the storm as he would in the quiet solitude of safety.