Years ago I got to spend a weekend with the Christian scholar and writer Martin Marty. He had come to speak at a festival of faith at the church I was serving, and we had some time together in social settings.

What I noticed was that when Martin Marty met someone new, he almost never said "Nice to meet you" or "How are you?" Instead he would look at the person and ask: "So — what's your life about?"

It's a hard question to answer on the spot. Most of us aren't prepared for it. We'll say where we work, or mention our family, or fumble around for something that sounds meaningful. Because the truth is, most of us haven't reflected on the question long enough to have a real answer.

But it is the right question. When you get right down to it — to the foundation — what do you love? What do you value? Where do you find meaning and purpose? What is your life actually organized around?

Jesus told a story about two houses — one built on rock, one built on sand. He wasn't talking about architecture. He was talking about exactly this: what is at the foundation when the storms come? Because they will come. He didn't say if. He said when.

The question Martin Marty asked is worth sitting with today. Not to make us anxious — but to make us honest.

So — what is your life about?

Prayer: Lord God, we don't always know how to answer that question honestly. Help us to look clearly at what we have built our lives on — and to find in you a foundation that will hold when everything else shifts. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

‍