Our Solid Rock

 

We live across the street from an entrance to a wildlife preserve with paved paths that our city maintains, even removing the snow in winter. The path going slightly downhill into the preserve has been lined with painted stones. Some are just colored but many tell a story and reveal the character of the person who put them in place. This line of stones, several meters long, is a record left by those who love walking that way. I thought of that reality when reading this verse for today:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious (1 Peter 2:4).

As the devotional writers says, calling Jesus “a living stone” is odd because we often use the term for something that is “stone dead” or “stone deaf”—  anything but alive, yet this symbolism was used in the OT as a reference to the promised Messiah.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. (Psalm 118:22)

And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” (Isaiah 8:14–15)

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ (Isaiah 28:16)

Peter refers to these thoughts as he goes on to describe this “living stone” . . .

For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (1 Peter 2:6–8)

This would be important to his Jewish readers as their expectations of the Messiah at last were met in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This idea of cornerstone is also about the church that He is building. Those who design and construct stone buildings know that the cornerstone is a vital part of what they are doing. It must be firm and square, in total alignment and in a perfect and immovable place that gives a solid reference point for the remaining parts of the building. This is true of Jesus Christ who is our solid cornerstone.

The word that makes Peter’s words leap off the page is that this stone is “living” pointing to the truth that Jesus is alive. Death could not hold Him. He is our hope because in Him, we have eternal life and all spiritual privilege that God promises to His people. That’s the believer’s hope and the basis for every spiritual privilege we have.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

Jesus is the stone that possesses life — and because He lives, I will also live.

PRAY: Jesus, we visited Your child, LM, who is in the trauma ward of the hospital. She fell backwards down a flight of stairs, yet the most amazing thing is the joy on her face. You are her living hope and You hold her hand, even in her pain and the surgeries necessary to replace several broken bones. She said she yelled at You and wanted to know why, and You told her, “I’m not finished with you yet.” Because You are alive and because You are her solid rock, Your words gave her a satisfied peace. Trusting You in whatever trials we face is most precious. We do not stumble, nor are we offended by You. Instead, You are our Cornerstone and because of You, life does not have to be explained beyond the reality that You are in it with us. Bless and heal LM’s broken body and bless and heal this broken world.

PONDER: These verses from the psalms can be prayed, not only for LM but for all who need to be healed and need to stand firm on the solid Rock that is Christ: Psalm 6:2, 107:20, 147:3, and 1 John 5:11. Think of ways to help others remember the wonder of having life in Him.