Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. (Psalm 127:1 (NKJV))

The Hebrew word for vain in this verse means useless, empty, worthless. When you are building your house – your family – it must be built by God. If it’s not built by God your labor is useless, empty, worthless.

Jesus told us what happens when we labor in vain.

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV))

Unfortunately, I can attest to the truth of these verses. I didn’t come to the Lord until later in life, when my son was 15 years old. Before I started following Jesus, I got married, and we had our son. And I began building our house on the principles of this world. I read many, many books on parenting. We took parenting classes. I applied the principles I learned in the books and the classes. I even applied things I had learned from watching television shows that depicted a family life I admired.

I was told, and believed, that a woman could have it all, could do it all. I could have my career, rear my child, make money, and build a household. I could be everywhere and do everything. I could file motions with the court in the morning, help my son with his homework late in the afternoon, make dinner for our family, and bake cookies in the evening. I was assured that it was okay to put my child in the care of others during the daytime, so I could pursue my career and give my son a better life.

Brick by brick, we assembled our house on various worldly principles. We encouraged our son to modify his behavior through rewards and incentives. We imposed consistent rules, limiting television and video games. We provided our son with opportunities to experience different activities, so he could find something he enjoyed. We traveled. We placed an emphasis on our son’s education. We ate dinner as a family. We ensured that we knew where our son was at all times.

Many of those principles are good things in and of themselves. The problem was the foundation. Instead of a solid foundation, I was building right on the ground that was there. I didn’t first ensure the principles were built on the Rock of Jesus.

When I submitted my life to Jesus, I added to the bricks rather than starting a new structure. I added to the house that was already there. Sure, my personal foundation was now strong. Jesus became my foundation, and I was building a new life brick by brick as I learned new Biblical principles. But I didn’t start building anew when it came to our family.

Instead, I simply added to the bricks; I added new rules. Now it was a rule that we all go to church together on a Sunday. I tried to get my son involved with the other teens at our church. We began to pray before we ate family meals. I started reading my Bible some and went to a few Bible studies. I started listening to Christian music part of the time. But the bricks were placed on top of what was already there.

I didn’t address my son’s heart. I don’t think I understood that I needed to. I didn’t explain to him the change that Jesus had made in my life. I didn’t tell him why we were doing some things differently. I thought he would understand solely by observation. Besides, we were the parents, and he was the child. It wasn’t a matter of explaining our actions.

Then one day, without warning, a storm came, and the house fell.

And great was its fall.

Because of my spiritual immaturity at that point, I went back to the world for answers when the house fell. I read every parenting book I could find and talked to a counselor. Nothing made sense. Nothing explained what had happened. I sifted through the rubble for a long time, trying to salvage bits and pieces until the Lord showed me it needed to be cleared away and rebuilt on Him.

Then, as we turned to Jesus, God started rebuilding our house. Slowly, God helped us to clear the rubble. He helped us to lay a sure foundation. My husband and I started building on that foundation, on the truths that Jesus had taught us. The house was rebuilt with the assistance of our loving, faithful God. Our marriage is now stronger than it has ever been because it is built on the solid foundation of Jesus. Since we’ve rebuilt our house, we’ve had other storms come our way. But our new house has endured them all. Praise God, because He is faithful!

What is your house built on? If it is not built on Jesus, the Rock, it’s never too late to rebuild. But you must make a choice to build your house on Him. If you don’t choose to build your house on Jesus and His teachings, the choice will be made for you.

Choose this day whom you will serve. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)).