1 Peter 2:4-7 – Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone". (NKJV)

As I'm watching a documentary on New York City, I'm startled to see a much younger Donald Trump on the screen. He is commenting on that period in the city's history when buildings began to rise higher, each owner competing with the previous one to add more stories, so that his building could be the highest one in the city. Donald Trump is saying that it was only possible because of the granite composition of the bedrock on which the city is built. It's hard to dig into, but "once you build that foundation, that building isn't going anywhere." I wonder if he realized the deeper implications of what he said.

When Solomon built the first temple, he made sure that the foundation stones were great and costly. Even at that time, builders knew the importance of a strong foundation. The stones were carefully chosen and shaped to be worthy for the temple. But neither that temple nor the one that Herod built survived.

Jesus came to earth and became the chief cornerstone, giving us access to a heavenly foundation upon which to build our lives. In order for us to become one of those living stones in His spiritual dwelling, we are chosen and then shaped by Christ through our life experiences.

What a great way to look at our lives! The experiences that we've gone through in life, both painful and wonderful, are shaping us, chipping away at our flaws and fears, so that we can be included in that final, glorious dwelling. As Daniel Iverson wrote:

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Prayer: Lord, help us to be willing to be molded, melted, chipped, and shaped in such a way that we can be witnesses for You here on earth and also proper building material for that spiritual home. Amen.

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About the author:

Sharon Cook <craftercook@gmail.com>
Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
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