What then of the man who hears these words of mine and acts upon them? He is like a man who had the sense to build his house on rock. . . . But what of the man who hears these words of mine and does not act upon them? He is like a man who was foolish enough to build his house on sand. Matt. 7:24-27, N.E.B.

Some men build on a divine foundation, some do not. The one group stands firm in the storm of life; the other collapses. Jesus Christ and His Word have decisive importance for all men.

The church of God needs a great many Christians, each at his post, who can be relied upon under all circumstances, who at all times will do the Christian thing, the honest, upright thing, the pure and responsible thing. Life is not ours. It belongs to God. We have no right to do with it what we like, regardless.

One weekend in a certain European country the radio changed its programming from light entertainment to a matter of more serious nature. A catastrophe had hit the country. A ship had been lost with all hands on board. The change in the programming caused a storm of telephone protests to the radio company headquarters. "What is this shipwreck to us?" angry listeners demanded.

Most of life in the world is hanging at the end of a rope of sand. The world of men and nations needs a revival of godliness, of Christian character, of virtue and fidelity. We live this way because Christ is at the heart of our lives. We witness to both the saving power of Christ and our obedience to His will. Recently a man told me that his house was beginning to lean. The walls were cracked and the frame twisted. He called for the city inspector, who crawled under the house and found that termites had eaten out the structure.

Jesus defined the man who built his house upon the rock as one who keeps His sayings. He is always on the right side of life. When Christ tells us that hate will not work and love will, then this is the way we ought to live. When He says that dishonesty will not work and integrity will, we ought to commit our lives to obey. Hate and dishonesty are like termites, doing quiet but terrible damage.