WHAT IS YOUR FOUNDATION?

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

The words of Jesus quoted above illustrate a foundational stone in His gospel. In our day, how often do we hear the gospel presented in such stark terms?
When Paul, speaking to the Ephesians elders proclaimed, "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God", did his message merely consist of, "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?" Jesus and Paul stressed the importance of having our faith built upon a right foundation.

 A primary reason is because the foundation directly impacts our perception and expectations for our lives. A faulty or perverted foundation will ultimately lead to having our faith shaken, resulting in shipwreck, or repentance leading towards the purging of the tainted foundation so that it might be replaced with a right one. Though the latter is certainly preferable to the former, both results come at a high price, one the Lord never intended us to pay.

 Let us move from the error of exploitation to the Lord's call to be followers of Him. We begin with Jesus' life of following the Father; "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son does in like manner... I can do nothing on my own initiative." This is the same Lord who also said concerning Himself, "And He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man." It is difficult to comprehend that this same Lord in whom all things have been created and by whom all things hold together is totally dependent upon, and in subjection to, His Heavenly Father in all things.

He who had ultimate authority also displayed ultimate humility and submission, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. As it is written, we have been called into fellowship with His Son, just as Christ was called into fellowship with the Father. Moreover, we have been called to follow the Son, just as the Son follows the Father. This is our very foundation.