Are You a Living Stone?

Advent Series #19 1Peter 1& 2  “Living Stones.”

Do you live in a place where you and your faith are secure? Since most do not, James and Peter address the pilgrims who have left Jerusalem and need reassurance. Both authors remind the believers that they are chosen, elect, and set apart by the Holy Spirit.  They have been ransomed, sprinkled and born again with the blood of Christ. They recognize it was He that offered His body to be sacrificed that they may take part in the resurrection to come. They also recognize that this life is a temporary transition to the eternal, just as Jesus promised. Thus, the persecution they are facing is temporary, and their lives transitory. All NT authors point to this fact: you are to be holy because God is holy.

Peter likens believers to stones chiseled by the trials and tribulations in this life. They were in the quarry but were taken and placed side by side to build the house of God.  The cornerstone is Christ, chosen, and precious.  The world stumbles over His message and His person, but the believer sees himself as part of the temple of God,  part of a holy nation, a people of his own for one reason: to proclaim Jesus Christ to a darkened world.

We may not have seen Christ or heard His audible voice, yet we can know that we are building the house of God that will outlast this earthly existence.