Bedrock

At Kingfisher Crossing you can see exposed bedrock formations in many different areas: on the higher ridges, at the climbing rocks, and all around the Western half of the lake. Of course, the house itself, in true biblical fashion, is built on bare bedrock: it’s an integral part of the design, especially in the sauna (where at times not just the rock is bare and exposed.) 

Anchoring the footings of buildings on rock rather than on loose topsoil or sand is smart construction basics. As a skilled carpenter-builder (Greek: tekton = craftsman, artisan) this was part of Jesus’s professional knowledge for His first job. In His second job as a rabbi, He uses this structural know-how to illustrate spiritual truth. Eugene Peterson translates Jesus’ comparison of Luke 6:48-49 in The Message this way: “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”

Dictionaries define bedrock as the hard layer of rock beneath looser rocks and soil. In some places, the bedrock is exposed, while in others it lies deep underground. The word can also be used in a figurative way, to mean "the heart of the matter," or "the basic, fundamental principles."

It’s this figurative way of understanding bedrock that Jesus is after. He is not primarily concerned with geological soil-engineering or the structural integrity of buildings – He doesn’t want us to build our lives on the quicksand of ever changing human philosophies, popular trends, or shallow pursuits, but He wants our lives to be well-grounded in the bedrock of Biblical truth.

This is not a new thought, but it’s something we tend to lose sight of in the busyness of life. Even pastors, missionaries and other professional Christian workers often neglect bedrock truth and focus on topsoil issues, such as church growth techniques, social justice efforts, or engaging in good works. It’s not that we are not aware of, or don’t agree with the bedrock basics, the fundamental principles of how life is supposed to be lived, but we just use Jesus’s words “in Bible studies and don’t work them into our lives”.

In the two verses before the passage quoted above we hear Jesus say: “Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.”

We have to get back to these foundation words, the bedrock basics, the Rock Himself. King David was far from perfect and had many flaws, but he did one thing really well: he always came back to the Rock. Towards the very end of his life he penned this song (in 2 Samuel 22:2-3, 32; and in part repeated in Ps.18 and Ps 144):

“God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout; My mountaintop refuge…. Is there any god like God? Are we not at bedrock? Is not this the God who armed me well, then aimed me in the right direction? Now I run like a deer; I’m king of the mountain.”

In Ps.71 we find a very similar sentiment: “My God,... You keep me going when times are tough— my bedrock, God, since my childhood. I’ve hung on you from the day of my birth, the day you took me from the cradle; I’ll never run out of praise.”

The bedrock for life is God Himself. It’s not just Biblical principles that we base our lives on, it’s a personal God that we have a relationship with, who enables us to live the kind of life He wants us to live. Knowledge of principles alone won’t keep our life-structures from being flushed away. We need to be intimately connected to the Rock Himself to withstand the pressures that will inevitably come against us sooner or later.
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The Voice translation of Luke 6:47 sums it up: “What matters is that you come to Me, hear My words, and actually live by them.” It all begins with coming to Jesus, our bedrock foundation, listening carefully to Him and allowing Him to live out His life in and through us. It’s as basic as that!

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