There are so many programs on television these days concerning home renovations and the like. One of my favourites is ‘Grand Designs’ hosted by Kevin McCloud. This has proven to be very popular television with over fifteen series being produced. It is all about people building their dream homes. Mostly they are ‘grand homes’ and it is interesting watching the progress of the ‘build’, set over a period of several months! What interests me is the engineering specifications for the building’s foundations. I am also very interested in the ‘look’ of the building and all the little architectural features that make the building unique. But I really am interested in the foundations. Foundations are important because no matter how grand or visually appealing the building may be, it is what is under the building that is of crucial importance. It is ‘what holds the building up’ that really matters. When storms or tempests come, and they will, the question is this – will this impressive, stylish, magnificent ‘grand design’ stand strong? Or, will cracks begin to appear and eventually collapse just like a number of homes did when an unexpected tornado hit at Kurnell two weeks ago?
Foundations for a good building must be sure and strong. This is the same with our lives. If we want to enjoy the good life we need to have strong foundations! We may spend hours at the gym honing our bodies to make us look good. We may book into the beautician for times to help improve the way we look. We may be careful with the foods we eat and go to a lot of trouble preparing healthy food to keep the kilos off. But what about the necessary qualities that really undergird our life and make us strong on the inside?
In our new series, ‘Foundations for the Good Life’, we are going to explore what Jesus believes is imperative for building a strong, productive and good life. Over the next five weeks we will consider The Beatitudes that Jesus shared with His disciples. We start with the first three viz. the need to be poor in spirit; the need to mourn and the need for meekness. These three are very interesting and are very different to what we may think they mean. I hope that this little series will ensure your foundations are strong for the challenges of life that are still to come to each one of us.