Building a Lasting House - Martin Wiles

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4 NIV

Houses are constructed; homes are made.

As a preacher’s kid, my daughter, Chrissy, has lived in several different homes. The trend continued during her college years. While living on campus, she stayed in several different dorms. Then when she and a couple of her friends moved off of campus, she lived in houses and apartments. After graduation, the practice continued.

Each of her dwelling places was different. Some were large, some small, some cluttered, some neat, some filled with furniture and treasures, and some sparsely furnished. Growing up as a preacher’s kid—and being a preacher myself—I’ve experienced the same.

According to wise King Solomon, it takes wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and education to actually build a house, apartment, or any type of building. But these aren’t elements I can actually measure, cut, and assemble. I believe the writer had a deeper meaning in mind.

Personally, I’ve never built anything except chicken coops and hog sheds, but even those small projects required planning, buying materials, measuring, cutting, and putting pieces together if I wanted them to do the job I built them for.

Through His parable of the wise and foolish builders, Jesus points to the importance of a good foundation—something I think the writer of these verses would agree with. The foundation Jesus referenced was more than a literal foundation made of wood or concrete. It was a relationship with Him—as well as the elements Solomon mentions.

While houses are built, homes are made by the lives of the people who live there. When the inhabitants build their lives on a relationship with Jesus Christ and live their lives with character, integrity, and principles, that home becomes a place that shines a light far beyond the walls holding it together.

When Chrissy relates the conversations she has with her oldest son, Levi, while they are reading Bible stories—when he tells her it’s a whale, not a big fish—I know she’s building her home with the right elements. When Levi understands why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace or why Daniel was placed in the lion’s den, I help build her home too.

Make a commitment to build your home with the right elements. When you do, it will withstand any storm that may come against it.

Prayer: Father, give us the courage to construct our homes with lasting materials. 

Tweet this: Commit to build your home with the right elements. #lovelinesfromgod #devotions

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