A favorite story in my house is the 3 Little Pigs. The story is of 3 pigs who come of age, and move away from home. For the first time they are away from mother's protection, and must make decisions for themselves. The 1st pig wants to have fun, and does not want to work too hard. He builds a house out of straw, which is not very strong. The 2nd pig is also more interested in fun and games, and does not put in the effort to have a strong house for protection. His house of sticks is not much better than the straw house. The 3rd pig is much different. He takes the time, and puts out the energy to make sure his house of bricks is strong and sturdy. In the end an enemy (the Big Bad Wolf) come along to eat them. The 1st and 2nd house do not protect the first two pigs, but the brick house provides safety for them all. This reminds me of the wise and foolish man that Jesus spoke about. The wise man builds his house upon the rock, but the foolish man builds his upon the sand. What kind of house are you building for you family? Is it sturdy, or will it fail to protect you when the Big Bad Wolf comes to eat you?
Matthew 7:15-27“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in
sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is
like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” (emph. mine)
