Craig Clouston

 The Water Level

But Christ is faithful … and we are his house.

Hebrews 3:6

The new house had been delivered, and Dick had been given the job of building the piers upon which it would rest. As he loaded the truck, he noticed he was missing the one item he needed most. Not finding it in the shop, he called his boss. “Hey, Bob, do you know where the water level is?”

“The pieces are in the closet in my office,” he directed.

Retrieving the items used to construct the tool, Dick headed for the site to complete the setup. Arriving on site, he put together the pieces that made up the water level. Once set up, this unique tool gave Dick the perfect point of reference without having to run a line level or set up a transit.

Dick began building twenty-four piers made of eight-by-sixteen-inch cinder blocks, positioning two side by side, and cross-stacking them four high. Then, using solid oak lumber and shims to fine-tune each one, he completed the erection of each pier. Two hours after he’d begun, the crane lifted the first half of the house into position, setting it down on twelve of the piers without a hitch. An hour later, the second half was sitting beside the first. As soon as he completed the interior work and connected utilities, the family could move in.

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A simple tool, yet extremely accurate, the water level provides a perfect point of reference to work by. The manufactured housing industry employs it because it is the most accurate tool available to ensure each pier is the exact same height. Without it, eventually the house would sag in the low spots and heave in the high spots, causing the interior walls to buckle. Doors would refuse to open or close, and the customer would become disgruntled.

Verse 4 of today’s text says, “For every house is built by someone … ” If we use anyone other than Jesus as the builder of our spiritual house, it will sag and buckle. Only by using Jesus as our true point of reference can we hope to rest on a secure foundation during the storms of life.

Prayer

“Lord, teach me to use Jesus as the foundation on which I live. Keep me from using substitute reference points that would lead to destruction. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”