"... no matter what happens it can be well with us!"

“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. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7: 24 & 25)

Foundational people; strong, stable, solid people are people who do what Jesus said they should do. He assumes it is so when He speaks of “everyone …” here at the end of lengthy teaching about “the Kingdom of Heaven.” He assumes so when He commissions the eleven. “God authorized and commanded me to commission you:” He said. “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 18 – 20)

It’s unfortunate that I have to insist on this. But not all Bible Teachers believe it is so. Some teach that “we’re not perfect, just forgiven.” Others tell us that the principles Christ taught are for a “millennial kingdom.”

Jesus used the “present tense.” He is teaching about life in a Kingdom which He said is “now accessible to everyone.” (Mark 1:15 Willard Paraphrase) Jesus believed; personally experienced; and taught that when God rules in a person’s life, by the Holy Spirit in them, they will live this way. This “blessed” life will be the privilege of any and all people who “repent and believe.” Unlike the “hyper-religious” “pretenders” of His day, these “solid people” would have changed hearts. Jesus, quite simply, expected such a transformation in those who were “born of the Spirit.” (John 3: 6)

As our hearts are made over we are progressively changed. We love each other more perfectly. We even love those who “mistreat us.” We become the sort of people who wouldn’t even think of taking advantage of another person. Our piety is a personal thing between ourselves and “Our Father who sees the secret hidden places in our hearts.” We are people who, as Dallas Willard explains, “put their lives together in such a way that, no matter what happens, it is well with us.” We are focused on what’s important despite the chaos that often threatens to overwhelm us. We inspire confidence in others. Our real life is a demonstration of what we say we believe. Just as Jesus said it should be: our lives, veritable “beacons,” enlighten the world around us. People see “goodness” in us and give the “glory to our Father in Heaven.” We increasingly prove to be “people a person can count on.”