March 10, 2022

March 10, 2022

I have never been there, but I am told that northern Italy is peppered with tiny mountain villages. This week I read about one of its smallest: Dezzo di Scalve.

The picturesque River Dezzo runs right through the middle of this small village. Like most Italian villages that span a stream, there is a row of attached houses on either side.

But the row of homes on the eastern side stands out, because, as you can see, one of the houses is built on top of a massive boulder. The two houses on the left and right of the boulder are actually built around its contour.

The oldest record of Dezzo di Scalve consists of a report compiled by a land surveyor in 1586 and it includes a drawing of the village. A prominent feature of the drawing is the same boulder, surrounded by a cluster of houses. This means that the boulder has been an integral part of this village for more than 400 years.

A large dam, the Gleno Dam was built above the village in 1923, but the project was immediately cursed by poor materials and poor workmanship.

Sure enough on December 1, 1923---only months after the dam was built---the tragedy many feared happened. The central section collapsed, causing a mass of over 1.1 billion gallons of water to flood into the valley below.

Historical pictures of the town---like the one above---taken in the aftermath of the disaster show massive damage to roads, bridges, and the village itself that was almost completely washed away with 356 lives lost. But as you can see, among the few houses left standing are those that were constructed in and around the rock.

I bet the same Scripture that is popping in my mind as I write this is popping into yours as you read what I’m writing!

Here it is. In Matthew 7 Jesus said, “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.”

Life in this fallen world is full of floods---Covid, stock market losses, inflation, injustice in its many forms---so what is the foundation of YOUR life; THE ROCK or the sand?

More floods are coming!

Keep the SON in your eyes!
Mark