Proverbs 24:3-4. 3By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; 4by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
One summer in college I worked for my brother-in-law, a building contractor. What did I learn that summer? I learned that I am not cut out to build houses.
Building anything is hard, especially building a house. As our proverb says, it requires wisdom. Wisdom is the plan or blueprint for building. Knowledge is the process of building out the planned structure. In this case the building materials are precious and pleasant riches.
This metaphor is very personal to King Solomon, the builder of the house of God, the Temple. He not only had a God given blueprint for the Temple, but he also executed the construction with knowledge. He sure didn’t just make it up as he went. He followed detailed instructions.
Obviously in Proverbs, wisdom and knowledge are huge themes, and wisdom and knowledge are never reserved just for the intellectual realm. These words also apply to the relational realm as well. How many of the proverbs in this book call for wisdom and knowledge in how we relate to God and others? Almost all of them.
The point is that we don’t just need a wise blueprint for building an actual structure; we need a blueprint for building a life full of spiritually strong relationships. And we need knowledge for filling up our relationships with precious and pleasant things.
Jesus also used a building metaphor to make a point about relating to him.
Matthew 7:24-27. 24“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Are you a wise builder, or a foolish builder? Are you building your life on the wisdom of Christ? The wisdom of the cross? If not, you’re building a relational structure that will eventually fall down in the storms of life. Until your life is founded upon the love and self-sacrifice of the cross, our relationships will be built from a blueprint of selfishness. But when Christ himself becomes the blueprint of our lives, the foundation of our being, our living, then we can withstand any storm.
You: In what ways have you been trying to build your own house without a plan?
You in Christ: What is Christ’s plan for your life? Can you verbalize it?
Christ in you: Where is Christ filling the rooms of your life with precious and pleasant riches?
Pray: Father, I want Jesus to build me into his likeness. Help me to always look at him as the blueprint for life. Amen.
To Live is Christ 