By Tracy Smith
“Therefore everyone
who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise
man who built his house on the rock.”
Matthew
7:24 (NIV)
While
on a recent road trip, we were playing CDs we’ve had for years. One 20-year-old
song is one I’ve always loved, but have not heard in a while. The song is sung
by the band Big Tent Revival and is called “Two Sets of Jones’.” The song is a
modern retelling of the Wise Man/Foolish Man parable. It tells a tale of two
young families. One family builds its foundation on money, success and material
things. The other builds its foundation on Jesus. The chorus goes like this:
And the rain, came
down,
And it blew the four walls down
And the clouds they rolled away
And one set of Jones' was standing that day [1]
And it blew the four walls down
And the clouds they rolled away
And one set of Jones' was standing that day [1]
The
song goes on to talk about how the family with the wrong foundation falls apart
through hard times while the other family stays strong.
The
parable is found is found in Matthew
7:24-27. Jesus points out that those who hear His words and put them into
practice are like the wise man who builds his house on the rock. When the winds
and rains come, the house is standing in the end. Those that hear His words and
ignore them are like the man who builds his house on the sand. When the wind
and rain come, the house crashes down because the foundation was not firm.
The
song asks two important questions. The first: “Is your life built on the rock
of Christ Jesus or a sandy foundation you’ve managed to lay?” [1]
There
are so many sandy foundations we can build our lives on: money, success, looks,
education, earthly relationships, careers, etc. Each of us has to look into our
own hearts to see what sandy foundation beckons to us.
I’ll
end with question number two from the song: “There’s two sets of Jones’, which
one will you be?” [1]
GOING
DEEPER:
1. What is the sandy foundation you struggle
with? What can you do to avoid using that as your foundation?
2. The video for the song shows the story of the
song, watch it here at this link (plus you get a flashback to 90’s styles!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7qPchMdcO8
FURTHER
READING:
Along with being a
wife and mother to two boys, Tracy is an administrative assistant at Oakwood,
serves on the Women’s Ministry Special Events Team and leads a great group of
Junior High girls.
