Matthew 7:23-27 – “I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ 24 Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.” (NASB)
Our lives are the sum-total of our behaviors. Our wishes, desires, and intentions do not form our lives, our actions do. Where do our actions come from? From what we value most. If we value Christ, believing that He is the King, bringing a kingdom that will last forever, our actions will consistently reflect that we take Him and His teachings seriously. If we do not value Christ, it means we do not really believe He is of much consequence in the end, and our actions will reveal that.
God is love and He has created us with the dignity of free-will, meaning we can choose for Him or against Him. While we are free to choose according to our desires, we are not free regarding the consequences. Augustine said, ‘God has made us for Himself, and we are restless until we find ourselves at home in Him.’ A life apart from Christ and His way may look successful on the outside, but there is restlessness and / or a hardening on the inside. All lives apart from Christ end in destruction. Jesus later asks, ‘what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul (Matt. 16:26)?’ Jesus also says, ‘do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28).’
Jesus Christ is crystal clear; in Him and Him alone is eternal life and apart from Him is lawlessness and destruction. When the storms of life and death come, you want and need Jesus Christ in your boat with you. The foolish person ignores Jesus and His teachings. The wise person hears Jesus and acts accordingly by the grace He affords.