When I think of foundations, specifically in the sense of a relationship, I think of the number of things that work together to ensure the relationship stands on strong footing. What is it – or what do I do – to make sure that at the end of the day I can say the relationship is strong. In a marriage I think most people would agree that good communication is a foundation, so is trust, loyalty, and unselfishness. Most people strive for these things in their lives in hopes of developing a strong, lasting marriage. Foundations are important; if we ignore them we are “building our house on sand”.
If foundations are important in a marriage, how much more important should they be in a relationship with God? I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately; looking at my own foundations and wondering if my house is built on rock, or sand. I think it’s somewhere in the middle, clay maybe? I don’t know; I do know I need to strengthen the foundation, and I’ve been looking to Jesus Christ as a “how to”.
Excuse me while I make the biggest understatement ever: We can learn a lot from Jesus’ life here on Earth. There is so much to learn, and how to build a strong foundation with God is just one of them. A question I’ve been asking myself is what were some of the foundations of Jesus’ own relationship with His father? I think I’ve found a few.
1. He was of God
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”1 How much closer can you get with God than being from God? Jesus Christ was the word of God made flesh here on Earth. He was God. I’m not, obviously, so maybe I can’t just take that and run with it. But Jesus was also human; He did other things us humans need to do to build that strong foundation.
2. He knew Scripture
Jesus Christ was the word of God, and He knew the word of God like no other. In the beginning of his ministry on Earth, Jesus went into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil.2 But each temptation was meant with scripture, which separated Him from that temptation. Scripture is powerful, and if we know it we can use it. We just have to learn it, and that means reading, and studying.
3. He prayed/spent time alone with God
Jesus always made time for prayer. After feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, he didn’t spend time celebrating his accomplishment. He went away to pray. With so many people following Him and wanting to learn from Him, He still found time to separate Himself from it all and pray.3 The night before His crucifixion, what did he do? He prayed, alone in the Garden of Gethsemane.4 More importantly, He was alone. He was alone to sit in silence and listen to God. Prayer is communication, and without communication a relationship fails, I think we can all agree on that.
4. He trusted in God
Jesus knew what His destiny would be. He knew He was to be beaten, whipped, and then led to the cross to die. It was what God required of Him, and He trusted it to be so. He did not fight or argue. He didn’t like it,5 but He trusted in the Lord. When his disciples wanted to fight to keep him safe He called them off.6 He knew what He had to do, and He wasn’t afraid to do it, even if it meant death.
I’m sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as things Jesus did to build that strong foundation. With my limited Bible knowledge, it’s as much as I can do for now. But to me it’s quite a bit. It’s a start. I want a house built on rock. I strive for it in my marriage; I should strive even more in my relationship with God. After all, it is the only relationship that truly lasts forever.
- John 1:1-4 [↩]
- Matthew 4:1-11 [↩]
- Mark 6:46 – “After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.” [↩]
- Mark 14:32 – They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” [↩]
- Matthew 27:46 – About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [↩]
- John 18:11 – “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” [↩]
