In a recent chapel service, I shared with the women Jesus’ parable about the wise and the foolish builders found in Luke 6 and Matthew 7. It is, of course, a brilliant illustration of how we build our lives and the choices we make, and the consequences of those choices. I love to bring this teaching out from time to time to get the women to think about their choices, as I invariably ask them at some point in the message if they have built their houses on the shifting sand (the standards, morals, and customs of this world) or if they have built their houses on the Rock (God’s eternal Word). I know it sometimes, or even often, makes them a little uncomfortable to be confronted in such a direct way with a question like this, but that’s okay. I want to get them to think. I want them to realize that there is another way to go, another and different path to take than the one they’ve been on in their lives.
This most recent time, when I got to the point of asking that question, as usual, there was uneasy shifting in their seats, eyes darting away, and hands fidgeting with clothing and hair, as I let the question hang in the air. I don’t really expect anyone to give me an answer. I don’t want to put anyone on the spot, but again, I want to get them to think about their lives and their choices. I let them know, even if they have been a foolish builder up till now, it’s okay; they can change and become a wise builder.
This time, I had the pleasant surprise of one of the women who spoke out and said she had been a foolish builder for a great number of years, but during her current stay there at the prison, something has changed. She went on to give one of the most honest and heart-felt testimonies I have heard in a long time; speaking of God’s power to change a life, and His grace and mercy to those who don’t deserve it.
The other women listened with rapt attention. As she spoke, every word rang with truth and it made my heart so glad. I knew that this woman got it. She has become a living example of what the Lord was getting at with this parable; someone who has seen the emptiness of going our own way and has turned to God’s way. I was so grateful for the other women to hear her and to have this example set before them. I pray that they will see that if God could do that for this woman, who they see as “one of them”, then He can do the same for them. I pray that He would continue to change “foolish builders” into “wise builders”.