I Never Realized How Much He Thinks of Us
We are a part of a living, house!
My childhood was spent in a small Kentucky town with typical childhood experiences. Well, not all were typical! Since the house where we lived was just outside the gate to a very large cemetery, that probably is atypical. When they paved the road through that cemetery, we could ride our bikes even faster through there with fewer spills and scrapes from our previous accidents on the gravel road. One thing my little brother and I used to do was to stop occasionally and yell through the wrought Iron doors into the burial houses – mausoleums. Our voice would echo back, it would scare us, we’d run for our bikes and get out of there quickly. After we mustered up the courage, we’d go back to do it again. Those burial houses were usually built from stones, stacked and grouted. They were cold, barren, and scary….to us, especially after watching too many Dracula and Frankenstein movies.
Those mausoleums were more like houses of death. Dead rocks, dead mortar, dead iron gates, and dead people made a “dead” house. But there is something wonderful happening in our lives when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. He is called a “living stone” and the “chief cornerstone” of a new spiritual house. We are added into that house as we are born again of His Spirit to be part of a “spiritual house” made from our own living stones. The apostle Peter (1 Peter 2:4-10) is describing a house of life – eternal and wonderful.
Not only are we living stones, but Peter doesn’t stop there with amazing qualities of our new life in Jesus Christ. He calls us a holy priesthood, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are His own “special people”. We are called out of the kingdom of darkness into “His marvelous light”.
Peter isn’t finished. He continues. We were once not a people, but now we are His people. We were once without mercy, but now we have mercy, God’s mercy. What do you think we should do in response to such rewards, blessings, and honors? I know. Let’s sing, shout, worship, praise, obey from a heart full of love. Speaking of that love, why not love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? Let’s love others as we love ourselves. Let’s actually love ourselves as He does and put our old dead way of thinking behind us. We are not trash, refuse, unimportant, or irredeemable.
We are being made new and headed for an abundant life here and eternal life with God forever. Jesus said, “That where I am there you may be also.” Now, fellow “living stone” embrace your place in the “spiritual house” that God is making, and let’s invite as many others as possible to join in the celebration of being more than simple dust returning to dust. Living stones in a spiritual house with Jesus as the chief cornerstone and a foundation of the prophets and apostles. Sounds awesome to me!