Picture your favorite story place. Maybe it was tucked in under soft blankets with your mom sitting beside you or curled up in your Grandpa's lap in a rocking chair. Let the magic of the words "Once upon a time" drift over you. All right, boys and girls: today's story is The Three Little Pigs. Once upon a time there were three little pigs who had to go find their way in the world. The first little pig built a house made of straw, the second of sticks and the third out of bricks. Then along came the Big Bad Wolf. He went to the first pig and said, "Little pig, Little pig, let me in!" to which the pig responded "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" The wolf then informs the pig that he will "huff and puff and blow your house down." The little pig escapes from the blown down house and runs full tilt boogie to the second pig's house. The wolf is angry at losing his dinner and quickly goes to the second pig's house. The two pigs also refuse to let the wolf in even by the hair on their chinny chin chins. He huffs and puffs and blows the second house down. The two pigs run to their brother's house. He lets them in and they apologize for teasing him about working too hard. The wolf comes along soon and tries to blow the house down, but no amount of huffing and puffing will topple it. At this point, depending on the version you read, he either goes away to eat fried chicken or climbs the roof and slides down the chimney Where he is boiled in the pot over the roaring fire he did not notice.
So aside from the obvious lessons of don't tease your brother and look before you slide down a chimney, what can we learn from this story? Actually quite a bit. What was better about the third brothers house? It was stronger and had a stronger foundation. The first two pigs houses went up quickly, which they thought was great. Unfortunately, they also came down quickly. There are many things in our lives that are that way. The first thing that comes to mind is marriage. It breaks my heart when I see marriages crumbling that I thought were sure things. Psalms 127:1-2 says this "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. A Song of Ascents, of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain." If God and his will are not centered in a family it is a losing battle. Watch the news for a few minutes to see the battle the family is engaged in.
More basic than this is the foundations of our faith. Jesus told the parable of the wise and foolish builders. We all know the song but read the story.
As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
If you have walked with God for any length of time you have had an experience that shook your faith down to its bare bones. If not you will. It may be a loss or a disappointment or an illness. If your foundation is strong, your faith will come out stronger for the test. all through the Bible and in our own lives we have examples of this.
The writer of Hebrews cautions us to build on that foundation in Hebrews 6:1."Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,"
What can we do to strengthen our foundations? It may be different for different people. Maybe it would be to talk to people who are farther along in their faith walk. It might be to look back over your life and see what God has brought you through. You might try reading scriptures that you haven't read for a while, like the Gospels. Challenge yourself to read familiar scriptures, like the Lord's prayer or the twenty-third Psalm, with fresh eyes. Whatever it takes for you, find a way to shore up your foundation. There is an enemy much more dangerous than the Big Bad Wolf who would love to huff and puff and blow our spiritual house down.
