Standards of measurement . . .

 

Last night I finished watching a documentary that asks a question related to a current issue that is ruining the lives of our children. This morning, still feeling sick with the power of evil in our world, I read this story:

The curator in the Louvre Museum in Paris overheard two men discussing a masterpiece. One man said to the other, “I don’t think much of that painting.” The curator, feeling obliged to reply to this statement, said, “Dear sir, if I may interrupt, that painting is not on trial; you are. The quality of that painting has already been established. Your disapproval simply demonstrates the frailty of your measuring capability.”

The devotional author goes on to say that in the same way, Jesus is not on trial before people; we are on trial before Him. He has already been approved by God the Father. Those who arrogantly dismiss Him as unworthy of their devotion simply demonstrate their inability to recognize the most precious treasure of all.

That documentary I watched was filled with the same kind of arrogance in people who had no sense of how to measure genuine worth or truth. Their lives, filled with sin and blinded by it, are so far from reflecting the image of God in which they were created, that dubbing them with “frailty of measuring capability” is an extremely polite way of describing their condition. They cannot see, never mind appreciate, the holiness of God nor the precious value of Jesus Christ.

I am thankful to know Jesus, and realize that it is only by grace that I, or anyone else, is saved. He is precious indeed, and I’m humbled to be here instead of being like many people in that documentary.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 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 2:4–8)

By God’s standards, Jesus is the perfect cornerstone. The leaders of Israel had a faulty standard and even though they inspected Him, they rejected Jesus because He didn’t fit their concept of a Savior. Sadly, millions of men and women throughout history have followed their lead, choosing their own way and sin as a better option. For some, that rejection shows up in self-effort that appears successful but no one is saved by doing good deeds. For others, the rejection puts them on a slippery slope that makes their lives a mockery of all things good. Either way, Christ is rejected.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:1–11)

PRAY: Jesus, hearing of what happens in the lives of those blinded by sin feels like a kick in the gut. It motivates me to intercede, but also to bow before You in gratitude for giving me life in You, for rescuing me from certain judgment. I love You, Lord. And I need to pray for those who have measured You by their own willfulness rather than seeing You as their precious Savior who forgives sin and delivers us from its clutches.

 

 

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.