Foundations come and go, Rome crumbled into pieces, Egypt failed, and so with Babylon as well. Here’s a thought–in Psalm 11 the first three verses proclaim and end with the statement: “…what will the righteous do if the foundations fail?”
Some have taken this to mean that all is lost if the Christian foundations of a civilization fail–all is lost. One slight problem, foundations have failed since the very first stone was set on the Tower of Bable. Foundations, made by folks like you and me, are not usually eternal…unless they are constructed on the majestic “Cornerstone” of Jesus Himself.
As an engineer and builder, the design and construction of a foundation for a structure depends hugely on the material upon which it is constructed. Some foundations are a breeze to design, plenty of firm and predictable soil, while others require a water table beneath to, incredibly enough, actually “float” the
structure and bear the load stresses.
The other morning, floating a scone and a Starbuck’s black tea bag with some pals, I came to the realization that one of my main aims in Christian dialogues was to establish a foundation based on the “words of the Word”. I’m beginning to think that many Christian folks today are professing Christians but functional agnostics. Words from the “Words” of Scripture have become arbitrary and unreliable. This makes the soil under faith’s foundation, decision, and action a little spotty.
Parsing close meanings and applications with “words” from the “Word” while constructing life and death decisions and understanding should be a little scary. “Words” from Jeremiah, Psalms, and other Scripture abound in “Life” circles, parsing them is to God’s glory. Fortunately, God has left authentication of the authority of these “Words” in the prophetic falls of Nineveh in Nahum, Tyre’s destruction in Ezekiel, Babylon in Jeremiah, Persia in Daniel, the precise time of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Nehemiah and Daniel, and countless others Each event tells of the “life” of the “words in the Word”, and their surety for your foundations in the bedrock that lies beneath.
Scripture’s “words” speak of your personal ability to trust and construct your foundations on the real “Bedrock” of Jesus and His dedicated and beloved folks. These are all founded in God’s love, care, and holiness. Desperation, sin, death and indifference are not among the words of His Foundation, but rather life, love, trust, and peace.