Flood Insurance

Today, the Insurance Industry will make a statement about whether they will continue to offer insurance against flooding to those many home in the UK which are in serious danger of being flooded. Residents in Staines, Laleham and so on will be wondering what their future might hold.
Of course, in Woking, we have seen the massive improvements in the Hoe Bridge area, and residents there will be thankful for the work done, in spite of the inconvenience.
The Bible is alert to the dangers of flooding both real (remember Noah?) and metaphorical. One of Jesus' most famous short parables is on exactly this topic.
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood-waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7.24-27)
The difference between disaster and deliverance comes down to our reaction to Jesus and his teaching. Do we listen to his teaching and follow it, or do we refuse to obey what we hear? It might seem an academic question, and to many it is thought an irrelevance. But Jesus claims that our response to him and his words has practical, spiritual and eternal consequences.
Of course, if we know this to be true, we are in the favoured position of being able to help others to find the Flood Insurance they need. Let us use every opportunity to point to these important issues.
Best wishes,
Richard