Living Stones

03/26/2008

And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple.
What’s more, you are God’s holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices
that please him because of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (NLT)

We start out in life maybe thinking we’re as solid as a rock, able to endure great hardship, able to make our way with our own strength, our own ideas, our own plans…and then the sledge hammer of life starts to beat us down crushing us into itty bitty pieces, and much of everything we’ve ever known gets confusing and it doesn’t feel very good. WHACK, WHACK, WHACK…are we being smashed into itty bitty pieces so that we can come to the realization that the only true Stone in life is Jesus Christ? When we begin to understand that our true life is to be built on the Cornerstone of Christ, on the strong foundation of knowing Him and trusting in His promises, then it won’t matter how itty bitty we have become, because Jesus Christ is HUGE, and He is all we need!!

The Cornerstone of love is an indispensable and fundamental basis in life. When Jesus told His disciples that the most important commandant is to love God, and then to love others, He knew that this simple Truth would, or should I say could, make life all that it was intended to be. But too many times we skip right over this simple bit of instruction of loving first above all else, and that’s when God’s “construction project” starts to tilt like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy! How long will it be before it topples over?

Love is SO vital, and God’s unconditional love is probably one of the most amazing miracles we’ll experience on this earth—from the unconditional love shown to us from the Cross, to the unconditional love we are to show to one another—it’s the only thing that gets us through the toughest stuff of life. Without it, life will be a shaky process with disastrous results spiritually, emotionally, and relationally.

Jesus is Rock Solid, there was no wavering in the life He lived on earth even when those around Him were faithless, doubting, scared and defiant. Jesus never changed Who He was—straightforward and always loving, always faithful. Jesus knew with love and time…changes were taking place. Unconditional love is truly the spiritual sacrifice that pleases our Lord. We can never know when our words or actions may be the last straw dealt to someone’s hurting soul…so we must always err on the side of love! It can literally save a life!

God’s love is not only for His sake, but for ours and those He brings into our lives. Soaking up the love God has for us equips us to love others as we should…it’s a perfect plan that can work in a very flawed world if we will only let it. Love takes time in life…time to show it to others, time to feel it from others, time to build up trust in relationships. Jesus took that time with those He met. He was the perfect Cornerstone to build on, setting up a rock solid foundation for our lives. If the process seems slow, it’s because it is...but as itty bitty living stones, connected to the One True Cornerstone, Jesus Christ, we can be a part of the greatest building project ever devised, God’s Kingdom here on earth and in Heaven to come!