A Kingdom Foundation

Crash! Rumble, rumble, rumble. Those were the sounds coming from my kitchen the other morning. I'd been pressing some tofu and, for those not familiar, pressing removes most of the liquid so the tofu can be fried or grilled to a crisp on the outside. It's sort of a fun process for me --I know it's weird, but bear with me. I dice the tofu, line it all up on a cutting board covered with clean dishtowels and paper towels, and then reverse the paper towel, dishtowel layers, topping that off with a second cutting board and a wooden serving tray. I want as much weight evenly distributed across the tofu as possible, so I fill the tray with onions and potatoes and maybe a bag of dog treats. I warned you it was weird! The "fun" part is getting the distribution just right so any inconsistencies in the size of my tofu cubes doesn't cause the whole tofu tower to come sliding off the kitchen counter. That's what I heard that morning --tofu tumbling and onions rumbling. Naturally, the best way to avoid structural failure is to ensure the tofu is diced evenly, and I know that, but sometimes I foolishly do otherwise. Welcome to the point of all this: Laying a faulty foundation --in haste, out of laziness or ignorance or stubbornness, or for any other reason --can precipitate the need for extra work later on or can cause complete undoing.

In Matthew 7, Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven. Now, I know I said we'd be looking at the Kingdom of God, and depending on your doctrinal point of view, the kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God are one in the same or completely different; but if they are indeed the same, Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God, and if they are different, one must be part of the Kingdom of God to one day enter the kingdom of heaven. So, we begin with the same premise: only those who have a relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ (v. 23) and because of that relationship then obey Him (v.21), will enter the kingdom of heaven. He goes on to illustrate the "building" of one's life: those who hear what Jesus says (gain knowledge) and apply that teaching (wisdom) are building on a rock, a solid foundation; those who hear (gain knowledge) but do not apply teaching (wisdom) are building on unevenly diced tofu (v. 24, 26). Well, Jesus says sand, but I've sort of paraphrased. 

Jesus says there are consequences to building a foundation. We, in the States don't really like to talk about consequences. We like to speak of benefits or results; consequences have a negative connotation. But consequences are really neither bad nor good: consequences are simply the event or condition that follows foolish or wise actions. The house built on rock (applied teaching or wisdom), for instance, withstands the floods and winds; the house built on sand (knowledge without application) crumbles to the ground in the presence of rain and wind (v. 25, 27). The tower built on unevenly cut tofu teeters and falls to the floor. The life built on something other than the applied teachings of Jesus, will fall when troubles come. 

The Kingdom of God is eternal. Imagine what that foundation must be like! Made of the best materials for all eternity, the strongest materials of the utmost integrity, the purest elements! There's not a human being on earth of whom that can be said. And yet, God builds His kingdom using people like you and me --so long as we hear the teachings of Jesus, apply them to our lives, and share them with others. Christ lives in us and the things we say, think, and do reflect His presence; His strength and power are within His people, and we are made righteous. He works in us, and we are to work for Him; not in a quid pro quo sort of arrangement, but out of gratitude, in relationship with our King, and as heirs to an eternal kingdom. A kingdom built on a rock, The Rock. If you are building your life, your house, your family, your future on any other foundation but that of Jesus Christ's authority and work, you are cutting corners, using shoddy materials, building on tofu. And the best you can hope for is to keep the mess to a minimum when everything comes tumbling down.