How to Be Wise

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise,
like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise
and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish,
like a person who builds a house on sand.
When the rains and floods come and the winds get against that house,
it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Matthew 7:24–27

Jesus was a master storyteller. His favorites were parables. Interesting word, parable; it means, literally, “to cast alongside.” In other words, a parable is a story in which some familiar situation is cast alongside the unfamiliar for the purpose of illustration—making the unfamiliar clear and easy to grasp.

I suppose we could say that the parables Jesus told were profound comparisons in story form. For example? The Prodigal Son. Or the farmer who sowed seed in different soils. Or the lost sheep. Or the Good Samaritan. Wonderful stories, all! He relied on such stories to underscore some particular truth He wanted people to understand, yes—but more importantly, to apply. A life of simple faith is built, I believe, on a reservoir of simple yet profound stories.

So we should not be surprised that when Jesus reached the climactic conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount, He relied on a story to clinch His final words and leave His listeners speechless. Did it work?

The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:28–29)

For folks who had slept through many long and boring sermons, that was saying a lot. To the end they sat spellbound, shaking their heads in amazement—another vote for profound stories that make the truth stick.

Let me encourage you to read Matthew 7:24–27 as if for the first time. By doing so you will see new vistas and feel a fresh touch from the scene Jesus verbally paints.