From Jail to Jesus
Foundations: On What Are You Building Your Life?
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light." (Genesis 1:1-3)
Much more than simply the first words of the Bible, this text establishes the foundation of Christian faith. Chapter one declares without explanation – for none is needed about God’s existence – “God ‘is.” Neither does the Biblical record here attempt to explain God’s origin, for God always ‘was.’ There is not a ‘before’ or ‘after’ with God, for He created the very concept of time itself.
God simply just “IS.”
You might remember this vignette from chapter three of Exodus: “Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14)
Foundations are important. As the psalmist David would later write – likely from personal experience: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
Don’t neglect foundations. Jesus thinks they're important. That's why He spoke of them in His parable about those who built their homes on sand and those who built on solid rock. One stood firm, the other crashed to the ground when the storms of life swept across them. (Matthew 7:24-27)
On what are you building your life? It’s a question you and I ought to routinely ask ourselves. Are we building on the rock-solid foundation of God’s word? Or are we building on the shifting sands of anti-Christ philosophies brought to us by some theologians, pastors, teachers, writers, entertainers, politicians, and others?
If your life’s foundation is built on the insidious seductions of anti-Christ teachers, then please! Heed this sober warning from God’s word:
“Beware that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form . . . .” (Colossians 2:8-9)
Please, don't dismiss the urgency of this appeal. Foundations are important. The ground on which we build quite literally determines our eternal destiny. And God loves you too much to watch you continue building on the wrong site -- without making another appeal to you to change.
Eternity is a very, very long time.
About the Author
Richard Maffeo was born into a Jewish home in the early 1950s. In 1972 he discovered Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and he dove into his awakened faith with a passion that continues to this present day. Richard spent 33 years in evangelical Protestant churches until he realized God was calling him to the Catholic Church. He was received into the Church in 2005. He has written three books, writes a blog, and teaches several bible studies each week at 55+ communities. You can find his blog at www.inhimonly.blogspot.com. You can find him on Facebook by searching for his name.
Richard and his wife Nancy are married 47 years. They have three grown children.
