Every rational person who builds, does so with the expectation that what is built will stand the test of time. One of the greatest experiences of disappointment you can have is to expend time, energy and other resources in building, only to see it collapse, thereby sending all your efforts to waste. Every human being is a builder, though the nature of what is built varies from person to person and from time to time. However, what is of utmost importance is not just the nature of what we are building but the quality of it. To enjoy lasting success and prosperity in life, we must build according to a divinely-approved pattern.
     What you are building may be your marriage, business, career, ministry etc. In fact, the nature of building considered in this text covers every noble sphere of human endeavour. Therefore, you should not restrict your understanding or application of the subject matter of this article to a few areas of your life. Remember that there is no aspect of your life that God considers unimportant and therefore unworthy of His attention. Before God your life is not a conglomerate of disjointed and isolated fragments, but a unity of diversity. The Bible captures the essence of this paragraph in these words: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 5:23).
    Having clearly established the scope of our subject, let us now look at what the Bible says makes a “building” formidable. Let’s take as a case in point the account of the wise and the unwise builders Jesus gave in Luke 6:46 -49. The first words form a question: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” How often do we mouth the Lordship of Jesus Christ over us, when that is not the case. Lordship is acknowledged by unreserved obedience. To claim to have Jesus as your Lord and not obey Him is a sham. If Jesus may only have His say, while we have our way, then He is not yet Lord over us. It is important to know from the onset that the  quality of what we build depends on our response to Jesus as Lord.
    It is worthy of note that the builders, according to the account, each built a house. Both buildings may even have looked similar. Either of the buildings faced a similar attack from the elements. However, their outcomes were completely different.  In the first case —the wise builder’s—the flood beating vehemently against it, could not even shake it. Conversely, the foolish builder’s efforts were wasted, as his building collapsed with a great crash.
    We are told in the Bible that, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1Cor 10 :11). This indicates that God has graciously provided us with examples in the Bible as models, to illustrate right and wrong ways of living and doing things. The account of the builders cited above serves as one of such illustrations. Every Christian, irrespective of background, nationality or  denomination, belongs to either category of builders. In other words, there are those who belong to the group of wise builders and those who belong to the group of unwise builders. Sometimes, though, people vacillate between both groups.
    Let us examine the first category —the wise builders. This group represents those Christians whose relationship with Jesus is characterised by the three most important things that Jesus outlined as the attitude of the first builder to  his relationship with God, namely: they come to Him, hear from Him and do what He says (Lk 6:47). It is imperative to look closely at each quality and what it signifies.
Like the wise builder, those who aspire to build to last, come to Jesus, which implies that they fellowship with Him. A wise builder makes a point of spending time regularly with Jesus in prayer and in the word of God. Remember; the first thing Jesus required of those He had chosen, was to be with Him (Mk 3:14). This is corroborated by 1Corinthians 1:9, which says,  “God [is] faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. This is our first and most important daily calling from God, as Christians.
    Secondly, Jesus said that the person whose building was well founded, not only came to Him, but also heard His sayings. This is an essential quality of those who build to last. To “hear”, in this context, involves paying attention understanding and obeying. It is to seek, actively, to know God’s mind on  issues. The book of proverbs puts it this way, “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding” (Prov 4:1). Time spent with God is never intended to be occupied by a monologue. Therefore, we should not come to Jesus and do all the talking. We should learn to listen attentively to gain understanding(Eccles 5:1NIV). It is what we hear and are convinced of, that forms the basis of our faith. Otherwise, we have no solid foundation.
    Lastly, the wise builder obeyed God’s word. It is useless to seek to hear from God without the intention of obeying. It is not enough to hear God’s commands, you need to do them. The Bible clearly indicates that love for God is demonstrated by obedience to Him (Jn 14:21). It is also doing what God says that proves you have faith in Him (James 2:14 ). Those who are blessed, according to the Bible, are people who not only look intently into the perfect law of liberty, but who also do what is written therein. One of the criteria for receiving revelation knowledge from God consistently is to be up to date in your obedience to Him. Have you done the last thing God told you to do? If not, why not?
    The unwise builder on the other hand, the Bible tells us, “…heard and did nothing…”(Lk 6:49). Thank God that, at least, he went to Jesus and heard something, though he did nothing with it. There are many people whom this description fits. They come to Jesus, whether in private devotion or at church services, hear from Him but do not obey. Their private devotions and attendance at church are mere rituals with no substance. Usually, those in this category do not associate success and prosperity in the practical things of life with divine influence. Nevertheless, we find all over the scripture that significant human accomplishments, even in mundane matters, were divinely inspired and undergirded. Those who have such a philosopy of life would, naturally, overlook the possibility or even the necessity of divine involvement in such a quitodian affair as housekeeping. However, that was exactly what Joseph was doing in Potiphar’s house (Gen 39:1-4). Yet the Bible says, “And his master saw that the LORD [was] with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand”.
    In conclusion, therefore, we should carefully follow God’s principle of building to last which is to: come, hear and do what He says about any and all areas of our lives. For,  “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps 127:1). Shalom.