My Home is 4,000 Years Old

You might not believe this… but my house is 4,000 years old; pretty old, don’t you think? Well, it depends what I mean by that, right?

In December 2011, we put new floors in our basement. I had the boring and tedious job of putting back in order all the books that were removed from two bookshelves during the renovation. To my surprise I counted more than 30 Bibles… just in the basement. How many Bibles do we own? I asked myself.  Then I thought that I also have Bibles in my bedroom, the boys’ bedrooms, living room, my husband’s office, we have English Bibles, Spanish Bibles, and every iPhone, iPad, iPod & laptop in the house have several Bible translations. WOW, I am surrounded by Bibles! And there is not a day that passes by without someone in the house reading, listening, or studying one of these Bibles.

Sometime after that I read the following statement in an article about Mitzvahs[i] & Jewish traditions that totally made me think about my basement experience…

“What kind of a house do you have? Whatever it’s full of, that’s what your house will be. Our house is full of Jewish books. Four thousand years worth of Jewish books. So it’s a 4,000 year old house. A house that’s built to last forever.” Tzvi Freeman 

Wait a minute… I too have a 4,000 years old house! The physical structure is not older than 30 years, but the spiritual foundation of my home is that old. I realized my husband and I are building a home to last forever. Why? Because is not built on sand, is built on the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2.)

Building on a Solid Foundation, Matthew 7:24-27(NLT)  24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” 

My home is built with God’s Word as a foundation, a foundation that is going to go beyond this present life and into eternity. Yes… His Word will last and stand forever – both in this life and the next life to come.

•   “…I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the Word of God cannot be chained.” (2 Timothy 2:9 NLT)
 
•  “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations …” (Psalm 119:89 ESV)
 
• “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8 NKJV)

Important as the foundation of your earthly home may be, it is nothing compared to the importance of your everlasting foundation. What is your home founded upon, sand or solid rock? How old is your house?

Lourdes

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[i] By the way, in case you are wondering… Mitzvahs are moral deeds performed as a religious duty (a commandment of the Jewish law.) In modern society, though, Mitzvah is most often used as a term to refer to an act of human kindness :)  (More on Mitzvah)