By Lindsey Smith, Indigenous Missionary Lead
Whose Kingdom are you building? – Matthew 7:24-27
Over the last few months, we have had the privilege of hearing a variety of perspectives and voices weighing in on Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. It has been a tangible display of the beauty of diversity in the Body of Christ at work. Our newsletter team hopes this series has been both a source of encouragement and challenge—for that was what Jesus intended for His original audience as well.
As I reflected on the sermon as a whole and tried to figure out how to wrap it all up with a nice concluding bow, I decided to let Jesus’ own conclusion guide mine. At the end of this famous sermon, Jesus closes with one final parable—one final metaphor: two houses, two foundations.
When Jesus delivered this teaching on that hillside so many years ago, He had two kinds of listeners present. One was an active audience—His disciples, those who had already chosen to follow Him. The other was a passive audience—the crowds who had gathered, perhaps out of curiosity. What amazes me is how Jesus artfully and wisely taught in a way that offered both groups an invitation, even those who may have only come because they were expecting a miracle to be performed.
In this final parable, Jesus levels the playing field. He isn’t merely assigning people to a category—wise or foolish—but inviting every listener to pause and consider where they truly stand. His story calls for reflection that leads to response.
And so Jesus begins: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock .”
What does a house represent to you?
Perhaps it’s a place of safety, or belonging. Maybe it’s the result of careful saving and stewardship. Or maybe it’s simply a place where you can rest and find refreshment.
As Jesus expands on this picture, we begin to see that this house represents more than a structure—it’s the sum total of our lives. It’s the kingdom we’ve built, the life we’ve nurtured and curated, brick by brick. But notice, there is more than one house being built. The difference between them has nothing to do with the materials, size, or time spent building. The difference lies in the foundation.
Throughout His entire sermon, Jesus has been revealing truths about the Kingdom of God. He began by describing the kind of people who participate in the blessings of God’s Kingdom, flipping our expectations of what is good and brings joy upside down. Then He described the kind of lives these people lead and the influence they have. He spoke of how they relate to one another—both fellow citizens and outsiders of the Kingdom. He explained that obedience to the King must penetrate deep into the soul; it is not enough for our faith to be visible and active outwardly, it must reach the heart and its motivations.
These motivations are tested in the fires of difficulty—in moments that would normally provoke outrage, rejection, or revenge. Yet Jesus teaches, “Not so in My Kingdom.” The economy of the Kingdom of God is countercultural. Our faithful citizenship is motivated by understanding just how good and faithful our King remains. Thus we are able to pray in truth, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven—in the seen as in the unseen, in my life as in the life to come.”
This is a radical way to live, but Jesus invites us to embrace it nonetheless because it is the only reasonable response to the care of a Father who loves His children so deeply.
And so we come to Jesus’ concluding warning and exhortation:
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
It is simple yet profound: life in the Kingdom is a life of intentional action and response to the daily realities of walking with our Lord and Teacher. This is a warning to both audiences:
- To the active audience, you who consider yourselves followers of Me—if your words, hearts, and actions do not align—you are building a kingdom that will crumble.
- To the passive audience, you who are looking in but keeping your distance, believing that doing the right things will earn a life of comfort and security, building on a foundation that is not Me—you are building a kingdom that will crumble.
The foundation will not lie. When the storms of life come, the strength of what we’ve built will be tested. If our words are not matched by our actions, and our actions not matched by our hearts, the houses we’ve built will fall and great will be their fall. But if we build our lives on the truths Jesus has given us, allowing them to shape every part of us—even when they contradict our instincts and culture—our lives will become places of refuge and rest, both for ourselves and for others. They will stand firm, leaving a mark that lasts forever.
So, dear reader, I end with the same question the Lord posed to me earlier this year:
Whose kingdom are you building?
Your answer to that question will determine how you weather the inevitable storms of life and how your story ends—in persevering victory or in ruin. The stakes are too high to settle for passive appearances of holiness. Let us follow Jesus with active, genuine faith, built on the unshakable foundation of the person of Jesus Christ Himself.
For more information and to support Lindsey, click here.