Jesus concluded the story of these two friends with the calamities that befell both men. The hearer only (the fake guy, the pretender, the deceiver, the double standards, the smart guy fooling everyone) and the doer of the Word (the true guy) experienced the same thing; the same challenges, the same difficulties, the same abuse, the same bad economy, the same political challenges. They were both laid off, they were both probably involved in an accident, thieves probably burgled their apartments, they both experienced losses in their investment or business. So what then is the benefit of doing the Word if the same things happened to them both?

The benefit is in their outcomes, the benefit is in their end. The challenges worked for the good of one and the destruction of the other, the lifting of one and the downcast of the other, the end of one and the birth of the other. It made one a victim and the other a victor. It sank one and caused the other to stay afloat. It made one a loser and the other a winner, an inspiration, a celebrity.

When we do the Word, believe the Word, hold on to the Word, and meditate on the Word, what sinks others will cause us to float, what destroyed other’s businesses will make ours to bloom, the sickness that terminates others will renew our strength and prolong our lives.