Pastor’s Corner: “Living Stones”
1 Peter 2:4-5 (NLT) – Living Stones for God’s House – 4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
Do you belong to a church? Are you a “churchgoer?” Being separated by social distancing practices has revealed where we fall in these two categories. Do we belong to “The Church,” God’s children the Body of Christ or do we go to a building. Now that we cannot go to the building, the foundation of our faith is exposed. Is our foundation a religion (system & traditions) or a personal relationship with Jesus Christ the Cornerstone?
The church is not a building, structure, system or traditions. The church is us, people who believe in Jesus and in His resurrection. From our modern perspective it’s very easy to think of the church as a building made of steel, wood, bricks, and mortar. When the New Testament speaks of the church, it is always talking about people. Do you belong to a building or an institution? Or do you belong to Jesus and His people? In the construction of a building, the cornerstone is set first in the foundation and all the other stones are positioned in reference to this stone. If the cornerstone is weak or not set in the right place, everything else in the building will be off. Jesus is the living stone rejected by humans but chosen by God. He is a precious cornerstone, chosen for great honor. All who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. We are God’s special possession, that we may glorify and declare the praises to God. Jesus Christ offers hope and redemption to all. He also called us to keep ourselves united as a spiritual family and be His army to spread the good news to the world.
Stones are movable, shapable, polishable and usable. These are all things God wants to do in our lives so that He can use us for His purposes. We all have a role to play in building His church of living stones. I don’t think it was by accident Peter used the term stone. Think about what David picked up and used to slay the giant. It was a stone, five smooth ones to be exact. What did the Israelites take out of the Jordan river to build an altar to God so people would remember what He did? Stones. What was the Temple in the Old Testament built out of? You guessed it, stones. The Bible uses stones for many things. If you think about them as people, we’ll that’s the same things God wants to do with us as living stones. We are to be giant slayers, reminding people of all God has done and we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
The thing that all these stones had in common is that they were able to be used and given a purpose. Sometimes God has to shape us before He can place us exactly where we’ll be the most effective. Sometimes that means parts of our lives will be knocked off so we’ll fit. Sometimes we will have our rough edges sanded off so we’re smooth. No matter what, we must submit to God and His purposes so we can reach our potential. Otherwise we will be stuck in the ground going nowhere. Today, ask God how He wants to use you as a living stone and see what He does.
A virus may empty a building, or cripple an organization but it cannot break or stop Jesus and God’s temple made of living stones – we are “The Church without Walls”!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton and Family