Built on Clay

One of the greatest and most complex structures of its day was completed in 1350. It stands 179 feet tall, but it leans 17 feet out of its perpendicular. That is enough of a description for you to guess that I am talking about the Tower of Pisa.

The construction of the tower began in 1173, and it took nearly 200 years to complete. The foundation of the tower is only 3 meters deep, and it was built on a type of clay that was not strong enough to support the tower. The tower began to lean when the third floor was completed in 1178, so construction was halted for 100 years because the government decided to focus on its war with Genoa, and they hoped that the soil would settle during that time. Over the ensuing years more efforts were made to correct the leaning which only led to the tower leaning even more.

Today it is one of the top tourist attractions in Italy, and I am one of those millions who have flocked to visit the site. Take my word for it—if you have seen a picture of the tower, don’t waste your time going there. It looks like a giant wedding cake that tilted when one of the wedding reception guests bumped the folding table. The pictures are better than seeing it in person. That is true for many of the landmarks in the world i.e. Stonehenge in England.

Over the years it has been interesting to observe the competition for constructing the tallest building in the USA or Dubai or Hong Kong or any other country. It brings prestige to that city and to the company that owns the building to have the tallest tower.

Our lives are like the towers that are being built today. Our human nature informs us that we want our personal tower to get taller and taller as bricks are added to the construction. But that desire to get taller and taller does not consider the foundation of our tower. No matter how many bricks are added, the question that must be addressed is what kind of foundation is our tower built on? If the foundation of our life is built on the rock of Jesus Christ, then we have a firm foundation that will last.

Jesus told us to be wise by building our lives on the rock so that we would have a good foundation for the storms of life. That rock is the truth of God’s Word. All of Heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will remain. Be wise and build your life on what will last.

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 NIV

 P.S. Travel tip: Don’t visit Pisa, but don’t miss the Isle of Capri. That was one of our girls’ favorite places to visit in Italy.