I've sung William B. Bradbury's old hymn, "The Solid Rock," a lot. That also means I've had the ancient refrain stuck in my head about a thousand times.
"On Christ the Solid Rock I standIn my head and through my voice, I've recognized many times that our life must be built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, and that anything else is wishywashy sand, but yesterday that song got new meaning for me, because I went to the beach ... and planted myself in some sand. I learned two things from it:
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand."
Sand Looks Pretty Firm
It does! I mean, it's so heavy and thick and huge waves crash on it and it looks okay. There's so much of it, and it's so easy to just sort of plant yourself. But that's when you have trouble. Suddenly the sand's sliding and your feet are moving and you realize you're going to land on your face in five seconds flat. Which is just like what happens when you build your life on any foundation but the Solid Rock. Building your life on money, people, health, happiness, looks, businesses or anything else may look firm; it could look like a worthy investment. But its rockish facade will always give way to reveal its slippery base. Examine what your life is built on. It may look firm, but if it's not the Solid Rock, it's just sand.
Sand is Easy to Get Unconsciously Grounded In
I wasn't trying to ground myself in the sand! Honest! It just sort of ... happened. It was moving and my feet got buried without me even realizing it, but when the water washed in, I realized it. Once again, the sand's sliding and my feet are moving and I'm going to land on my face. And I wasn't even trying to get rooted in the sand! A careful examination of what we're grounded in is necessary to make sure we're built upon what we want to be. The world is easy to get grounded in without even realizing it. But Jesus demands that our life be built upon His worthy foundation, a foundation that you must consciously ground yourself in. If you've been grounded in the sand without realizing it, build your life on the Rock with new realization and rejoicing.
Sand is a scary thing. It can look harmless, easy, simple and firm, but it is really disastrous. Sand gets between your toes and topples your whole life when the waves come. But the unfading, unwavering, unmovable Solid Rock, Rock of Ages, "cleft for me," Jesus Christ, will let you build on His strength. When the storms of life come, the sand isn't going to save you, but the Rock is.