Friday, 28 September 2012

• Sinkhole Saints: Setting a Firm Spiritual Foundation

  By Mianna
  
  Friday there was finally a break in the rain. I ventured out and decided to celebrate the overcast-but-reasonably-ok-and-safe-to-possibly-get-lost-before-the-next-wave-(literally) weather and take a new route home. Or more specifically, a road that from the looks of things, led in the general direction of the city where I live.

  The first part of the road, ran parallel to the highway, so I knew I’d be safe. As I drove along I casually looked toward the highway and did a double take when I saw huge gaping holes in the earth beneath the road. Large metal arches held up the highway, so pass-throughs could be created for the ranches on either side. I was shocked to see this, because from my usual daily view on the highway, I could see none of it – the highway looked like it was built on solid ground. But from this new perspective, I could see that “solid ground” looked like Swiss cheese.

  Today on the way to work, I noticed a sign telling us the highway would be closed tomorrow. The entire highway?! When I got to work, I learned it would only be a small portion, just past the exit I take to get to and from work. A sinkhole had developed right in the middle of the road. Sinkholes are caused by water gradually eating away at the earth in a specific area, until whatever is on top is too heavy and sinks into the empty space the water caused. I learned that in this part of California, sinkholes are not uncommon, because the earth is sandy, the area floods in the winter and the overall infrastructure is old.

  For so many of us, our relationships with Christ are like the highway I travel on to and from work. It looks good on the outside – everything appears to be firm and supported, just where it’s supposed to be. But if you look closer – perhaps from another angle – there are holes. If the foundation we build our relationships with God on is weak, then when trials, temptations or valley seasons come, those insidious challenges will diligently eat away at what little foundation we have and we will cave under the pressure.

  We must be on the lookout for what the enemy persistently uses to eat away at our foundation, because the enemy’s goal is to steal, kill and destroy. Spiritually, we cannot rely on an old infrastructure – lessons learned in youth group, or the Christian counselor from the Boy Scout camping trip in 5th grade. We can’t rely on the Serenity prayer from AA or get our fix from a friend’s faith in Christ. We must continuously work to solidify our individual foundations in Him.

  He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.
  Luke 6:48-49
  
  Does your relationship with God have a firm spiritual foundation?  Why or why not?  What can we do to build a better foundation for our relationship with God?

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