Rocks

“You yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)

If rocks were the currency standard, Israel might be the wealthiest nation on earth. No shortage of rocks there. Farmers, in order to obtain more productive topsoil, have literally hosed down entire hills to purposely erode the soil so they could collect it and move it to their farms in the valleys. The result is that many hills are dotted with the rocks left behind, mostly basalt. Rocks are everywhere. They are the most abundant building material in Israel.

Peter, whose name means “Rock” by the way (in case you forgot), used stones as a metaphor for describing our spiritual experience. He described Jesus as the “Living Stone” and us as living stones in a house being built to honor God. We might wonder, “So, what is the connection between stone and spirit? There is no apparent link.”

Peter references Isaiah, who also used stone imagery to speak of Christ as a “chosen and valuable cornerstone,” and a “stone the builders rejected” that became the chief cornerstone, and also as “a stone that causes men to stumble.”

The idea in Peter’s discussion of spiritual stones seems to be that we are to be solid, firm, and consistent in our living of this life in Christ, so that what the world sees is what the world gets. No pretense. No fakery. No smoking mirrors. Just solid, firm, and consistent Christian living. Why? Well, our calling to this kind of living has a higher purpose. The purpose of holy living is to point people to the God of glory.

Lord, Help us today and each day to live lives that are consistently, firmly, and solidly committed to You, so that the world may be drawn to You through our lives. Amen.