Rev Neil Thorogood, Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge, at the time of writing (May 2023).

www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/pray/daily-reading

He laid the foundation on rock

Something to read

Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house. – Luke 6:46-49.

Something to think about

You can feel the frustration out of which Jesus tells this familiar story. People aren’t getting it. They are in love with the stories he is telling and the miracles he performs. But they are letting him, and the world he is offering, stay at arms’ length. His message is not going deep enough; transformed lives remain elusive even with Jesus in their midst.

It isn’t enough to hear the word from God. This word, voiced by Jesus, would lay hold of us if we let it. This word, carried to us through our Bibles, would transform our living if we truly let it. This word, brought to life amidst us by the Holy Spirit, would captivate and bless, judge and heal, challenge and restore us if we dare to let it become our foundation.

Jesus seeks us out and bids us to follow him. He calls us to be friends to him and for each other; disciples and children of God. But following can be a shallow response when our daily living is not built upon real devotion to him. Hearing without doing makes faithfulness into a sham. Jesus does not want pretence. He comes to invite us to stop pretending and to begin to live. We need deep foundations.

Something to pray

In the midst of busy and stormy lives, dear God, 
we pray for faith that is deeply rooted, 
for obedience that is built upon secure foundations, 
for hope that is firm, 
for trust that is steadfast, 
for lives that are offered in thankfulness and praise to you each day. 
Forgive us the fleeting falsity of a faith that fails to turn your words into our actions. 
Inspire in us a longing to be renewed through prayer and scripture, worship and service, contemplation and action. 
In all we do this day may we build a life upon your deep foundations, 
and help others to do so too.

Amen.