My children drew pictures of the parable of the foolish and wise builders, and we re-enacted the story by making two houses–one on sand and one on a rock. We sprayed them both with water from the hose, and we filmed what happened. One house was destroyed while the other house remained firm. (The secret is to not hook together the Legos from the house built on the sand! My son Nathaniel invented this idea when I asked him for a way to make the house fall down.)
The man who built his house upon the sand was foolish. When the rains and floods came, his house was demolished because he had no foundation.
The first drawing on this page shows one house built on the sand, closer to the tumultuous waves. The house built on the rock was obviously on higher ground. Sand is always found on a beach, so it is sea level, compared to a house built on a rock that is solid and strong and elevated above the danger of the waves.
This next drawing shows lightning, thunder, wind, and waves demolishing the house built on the sand. The house built on the rock, however, stands firm.
What materials you use for building your house also matters. My daughter drew a man building a house with sticks rather than bricks. She might have been thinking about the second and third little pigs from the Three Little Pigs story. But it’s appropriate spiritually that we not only have a strong foundation for our house, but that we build our house out of things that will last.
When Jesus explains this parable, He says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27 NASB
Sign up below for a free Bible crafts e-book!
If you enjoyed this story, you will love the Bible section of the Unit Study Treasure Vault.
