Simply put, that means that when you are born again you become a new person in Christ and a member of a family, all of whose members you love. 12 Once Jesus Christ enters your life, you'll discover a love for those you hated and will embrace other believers as your brothers and sisters in Christ.

It saddens me to hear people say that they get their spiritual nourishment solely through the radio or television or the Internet. Church is so much more than sermons and Bible study. It is fellowship among the members of a family who believe in and encourage and bless and strengthen one another. The church is a place where we can serve as the salt and light of the culture of our community. It's a place to share Christ, a place where we function as a body.

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We each have spiritual gifts we need to share with one another. And that's why God created the church. If you love Jesus, you'll love the people who love Jesus and will long to be with them — in His church.

I want to mention one more fruit by which you can distinguish between the real Christian and churchgoer. Look at 1 John 2:5: "But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him" Now ask yourself, "Do I live in obedience to the word of God?"

We must keep God's word, abide in God's word, love God's word, and live God's word. Founding your life upon the rock is to build your life upon the word of God. As it is with loving people you once disliked, becoming a Christian enables you to understand a book that once made no sense to you. What gave you no sustenance before becomes living bread. You want to be with and of the Word. You develop an appetite for spiritual truth in your life because you know Jesus, and the more you know the more you grow in Him.

I'm concerned about the professing Christians in America who think the Christian life is solely an esoteric religious experience. Even some evangelical churches try to make it all about the experience, the emotion, rather than about building foundations: a trust in God's word. Test the average high school student on the fundamental truths and personalities and events of the Bible, and he or she fails miserably. Many are growing up and merely adopting the religion of their parents instead of having a personal relationship with Christ and growing in the Word.

If you are to build a life that lasts, you need a foundation for your life. The point is that if you love Jesus and know Him, you're going to love His word and its truth. That's why Jesus said that those who build their houses on the rock are the ones who hear His word and keep His commandments and do what He says. To build your life to last means building on the reality of Jesus Christ.

And that, in turn, implies building on the stability that is Jesus Christ. Every builder knows the importance of laying sturdy foundations. The bigger the building, the sturdier the base must be. Months can be spent digging and laying out iron and steel and pouring concrete before the actual structure begins to rise.