1 Peter: living stones
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:4-10
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
How can you get a living stone? It’s a really weird analogy. You can’t get more dead than a stone, can you? Remember when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey and the Pharisees told Jesus to make everyone be quiet? And his response was ‘If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’ Stones are the most unlikely thing to make a noise, to cry out. That’s why Jesus said it – to make a point. If anyone can make stones cry out, God can. If anyone can bring stones to life, God can.
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
Jesus is the original living Stone with a capital ‘S’ – the first one, the original one, the most important one of all. He’s the one who shows us how to live as living stones. When he came to earth, he was misunderstood and rejected by many (and still is!). Many were not ready to hear what he had to say or to take on the challenge of living as living stones themselves. But actually, what matters most, for Jesus and for us, is that we are precious to God, chosen by Him.
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
Jesus is the cornerstone. This is the keystone, the most important stone in any building. Without a firm cornerstone, a building will not be stable. Without Jesus in the most important position in our building (the church), the building we’re creating will not be stable.
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
Each one of us has the potential to be a living stone, part of the whole, the building that glorifies God. None of us can live in isolation – no man is an island (or woman or child…). We were created to live in community, in relationship with others. This house is built on the love of God and the love of God is shown in relationships.
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
To be a living stone, we are called to live a holy life, as we explored in the last blog, and to offer spiritual sacrifices. In Romans 12, that spiritual sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God is the whole of our life offered to His service. We live for Him 100%. That will look different for each one of us, as we are each called to different lives – but it will always look like love in action.
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
God has chosen us to be His special possession. For what reason? To declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. God’s light is there to light up the dark corners of our lives – to bring love and comfort and hope to the most difficult of situations. That in itself is something to shout about!
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
Since Jesus came to this earth, there’s been a change. Once we were not a people. Now we are. Once we had not experienced mercy. Now we have. As followers of Jesus, it is our task to demonstrate this change through our lives. We’re called to live as a people, a spiritual house, a unit that grows together. We’re called to live in the light of the mercy we have been shown and to show that mercy to others.
This is practical stuff. You’ll have noticed I’m steering clear of the theological points around predestination raised by this passage. Sometimes we have to put our hands up and admit we don’t understand and can’t make sense of something and possibly never will.
I choose to live as one who believes, one who trusts, one who obeys, one who builds others up and encourages them in their faith journey as living stones. I get that God sees the whole picture and I don’t. I can make peace with that.
So let’s get building!
