Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
One of the amazing things about grace is that God chose us before “the foundation of the world.” He did not look down through the tunnel of time to see what kind of person we would be and then pick us for his team based on our future performance. God did not choose us because, in his omniscience, he knew that we would choose him. Fallen man does not seek God. This divine selection was based solely on God’s grace. And his choosing was for a purpose.
The power went out at about 10:30 PM. Lori and I were right in the middle of watching a movie. The movie was one someone had loaned to us and said we needed to watch it. To be honest, we didn’t mind missing the rest of the movie! But we did mind the darkness and cold. Our thirty hours without power made it feel like we were back in the pioneer days, out on the prairie living by candlelight and warming up by the fireplace. We own about ten flashlights, but only one worked, and it was a needed companion. Light cuts through the darkness.
In 1 Peter 2:4-8, the apostle Peter uses the example of a building to help us understand the eternal importance of our relationship with Christ. He describes Jesus as “the living stone,” “a cornerstone,” and the “cornerstone chosen and precious.” In 1 Peter 2:7, the apostle warned those who did not believe. In today’s verse, he followed with a second warning. Sometimes Jesus becomes a “stone of stumbling.”
In his writing, the apostle Peter often referred to the Old Testament to make his point about Jesus. In today’s passage, Peter cites Isaiah 28:16. Here, he likens Jesus to the “cornerstone chosen and precious” used to build a secure and sure foundation.
Peter made it clear in 1 Peter 2:4 that Jesus is the “living stone.” In the following verse, he makes it clear that by “stone,” he, like Paul, means “cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:6, Ephesians 2:20). Jesus is the One upon which all things are built and by which all things are aligned. All spiritual life comes through and depends on Jesus.