Here is a sobering reflective question to consider: How do I know that Jesus is the foundation of my life?
Whatever stage of your walk with Christ – from having none to having walked for a long time – this is still a question worth grappling with. That’s right, it’s a grapple. It’s not a straightforward spreadsheet exercise of inputting data and then coming up with an answer.
People can have habits and routines that reflect their desire to set up reliable rhythms to live by rather than having essential divine encounters that inform experience. That means that you can pray twice a day, read scripture daily, ensure you attend a church gathering regularly, and do at least five charitable actions a week; that is not necessarily a reflection of a life whose builder and maker is God.
In the grappling, thankfully, we are given great divine assistance. One key help we’re given to help us see if our foundation is Jesus is by assessing our faith. Faith is arguably the essential key to helping us understand where our foundation is in life. Faith is not just mentally agreeing and emotionally feeling great about Jesus. Faith is the connection that leads us to act on what we trust and what is in line with who we trust. That connection means our daily and moment-by-moment decision-making is marked by the desire to do what pleases God.
Faith, as described and displayed in scripture, can be as large and life-consuming as building an ark or leaving your home or as seemingly small and innocuous as showing hospitality to a stranger. Faith acts for sure, but actions are also sourced in a relationship. We hear, interact, and engage in the light of what we hear, and we’re ever keen to hear and obey the instructions and prompts God gives, however He chooses to give them. This lifestyle is an excellent marker of whether our foundation in life is Jesus Christ.
Another significant help in determining whether Jesus Christ is our foundation is the issue of mastery and dependence. The subtle influence of idolatry can be so normalised that it’s not unusual for people to express their loyalty to Jesus while holding onto things—materials, relationships, beliefs—that actively rebel against the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Even the seemingly good can be a hindrance to total dependence on God's greatness.
In His lovingkindness, God will reveal through experience those things that compete with Him for our affection. Our challenge will be whether we will neglect the competitors for Him or diminish Him in our hearts in preference for the competitors. That will also highlight what the foundation of our lives really is. As we grow to treasure doing the will of God in our lives until we are wholly absorbed in Him, He will continue to go through that pruning process of highlighting that which could be a competitor for total dependence on Him.
Do we value our job more than Him? Do we depend on ourselves to meet our daily needs more than Him? Do we rely on the marriage, friendships, or positions of responsibility to define us more than our relationship as His children? Do we grip anxiety and fear when challenged for His name’s sake rather than resting in Him? Do we set up strategies and solutions in our own strength rather than being led by His Spirit in meekness and humility?
This pruning process is not designed for the outcome of shame and embarrassment. It’s designed to allow us to recognise the issue, repent and resolve to do whatever it takes to rely on His grace as the expression of love and devotion to Him. When we see it for what it is – helping us to be more fruitful by living a life that is dependent on Him alone – our lives can answer the question with greater assurance that our hope is built only on Him. He alone is the foundation.
That exclusivity is the heart of the foundation complex. Jesus explains that many will say that they did things in God’s name, and the response will be to depart because they’ve been practitioners of evil. The heart of the evil was a life that was not dependent on God. We can go through the motions of religiosity and tick off the boxes of piety, but as far as God is concerned, it only matters when our hearts are in Him and rest in Him totally as our source, our centre – our foundation.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
