Dig Deep

Luke 6:46-49
After giving the beatitudes Jesus tells us this parable about two men building a house.  But he prefaces it with the question, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and not do what I tell you?"  What interesting placement of this passage.  He has just finished telling them what to do (the beatitudes) then asks them why they refuse to do it.  Then we have our passage of focus: the two builders.  The first builder hears Jesus' words and immediately begins construction.  He starts by digging into the ground, through the mud and dirt, enduring pain and sweat and struggle and fatigue, all of this so he can then start on the house.  He has already exhausted himself and spent himself and lost time and hasn't even started on his house yet.  Then, after all this cost, he begins to construct his house.  The second man also hears Jesus' words and immediately begins construction.  But he avoids the time and pain of laying a foundation, which the first man endured, and is able to start on the house much sooner.  Both are able to construct a house, both having the right materials and ability to build.  There is no lack of knowledge on either man's part of how to build a house, nor is there a lacking of materials to build with.  In fact, the second man is probably able to build his house much quicker.  He is probably inhabiting his house, enjoying it and the comforts it offers while the first man is still head high in dirt and mud with his materials still bundled and packaged, waiting for use.  How foolish the second man must think the first is.  Here he is, enjoying his house and its shelter, while the other man is still exposed to the elements and enduring much struggle and still hasn't started on his house.  Doesn't he understand that all that is so unnecessary?  He too could be enjoying his house and free from all that hard work if he would just begin building his house and stop with all that extra work.  But finally the first man finishes his house.  Now, both men have a nice looking house that provides them with the same enjoyments and comforts, built upon hearing Jesus' words and then acting.  Upon looking at these two men and their houses one would wonder why in the world the first invested all that extra time and pain when the outcomes are seemingly identical.  It is only when the streams rise that these two men are exposed.  The first one is described as hearing Jesus' words and the doing them, while the second is described as hearing Jesus' words and not doing them.  But both build and end up with a nice looking house, after hearing Jesus' words, so how is one described as doing Jesus' words and the other not?  It is the foundation.  The first man heard his words and understood and obeyed them for what they are, knowing it involved first digging through the mud and dirt, exposing himself to the elements and enduring pain and suffering for a longer time, until a rock was found, and then and only then could construction on the house begin.  The other heard the words but decided to put his own spin on them and use them to his advantage so that he could be sheltered from the elements quicker, and avoid exposure as much as possible.  Both came to Jesus, heard his words and then proceeded with work, but only one actually obeyed, while the other kind of obeyed a self-interpreted version that was more preferable to him.  Which have we preferred?  Jesus' actual commands that involve hardship and suffering and toil with nothing to show for it, no house right away, or his easier to follow, re-interpreted commands that appeal more to us and offer a much more quickly constructed house?  Do we call Jesus Lord and yet build in the way and manner and timing we want, or in the way and manner and timing he wants?  Do we avoid the struggle and hardship, building a weak and feeble house to shelter us quicker, or endure the pain to build a lasting house?  One has Jesus as Lord, desiring his building plan, while the other has Jesus as provider of materials and plans, but actually just wanting a shelter.