The man had arrived in town suddenly. No one knew from where he came,
or to where he was going. He was quiet, as if he was guarding a
secret, or perhaps pensive, but he was always cheerful. He was average
in height and weight, and there was nothing to really draw attention
to him. He liked to walk… a lot. He walked early in the morning, most
often, but he went for walks at many other times as well. One day, as
he was walking along, he noticed that a house was being constructed,
if one could call it that. Understand, the houses in this part were
not like our houses. Sometimes they were dug into the earth, like an
animal’s burrow. Other times they were twisted together, almost as if
a bird´s nest, among the trees. Or they could be built of left over
scraps of whatever was lying around. The truth is that the houses were
not well constructed at all. While the people readily agreed that it
was important to have a secure home, no one wanted to take the time,
or expend the effort to build something substantial.
As the man was taking his numerous walks, he had noticed the
craftsmanship, or rather, the lack thereof in the local homes. On this
particular day, he could not help but edge closer to a particular
construction site. He noticed that the style of construction was not
only shoddy, but quite dangerous. He asked those working on the house
if they had ever seen a house of this nature collapse or injure
anyone, and they carelessly replied that ¨of course they had seen many
people injured and killed, but that was the nature of housing. ¨
The man, observing the problems, began to help them build, or
actually, to help them demolish. It was because, he explained, the
house was not begun properly and could therefore never be built
solidly. At first, the people balked at his teaching, and at his
correction of their traditions and techniques. They did not appreciate
the intrusion of the outsider, and ¨who was he to contradict their
methods? ¨ Some of the people even left to go complain to the local
building committees about this new teaching. Little by little,
however, many of the people began to see that his practices not only
made sense, but were actually safe and secure. As he patiently taught
them about the steps of preparing the ground, laying a sure
foundation, using proper materials, and doing quality work, the
townspeople could not help noticing the difference in this new house.
As time passed, the first house was finished, and others in the town
began approaching the ¨Master Craftsman¨ as he had begun to be called.
They too realized that their construction techniques had been very
poor, and that their homes were unsafe. The Master Craftsman began
teaching them in large numbers about the proper building methods;
always with an emphasis on a sure foundation. He patiently showed them
how to build from the ground up, and he personally assisted everyone
in town who wanted help with their own situation.
Years went by, and most townspeople laughed to think about their
previous construction techniques. They scorned the way they had
accepted the unsafe and dangerous practices of the past, and they
remembered with great fondness the Master Craftsman who had come and
taught them how to really build. They smiled often, and rejoiced at
length as they raised their children in safe and secure homes, and
taught them as well how a steady home begins with a sure foundation.
This is not to say, however, that everyone enjoyed the security of a
solid home. There were a number of others, who, for one reason or
another would not release the old shoddiness to embrace the available
peace and tranquility of a rock-solid structure. These same people
continued to risk their homes, lives, and families throughout the
storms of time while the others were wisely prepared for any disaster.
The Master Craftsman
Mat 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of
it.