Active Theology

“As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5, NIV)

You can call me obsessive. You can call me a fanatic. You can even call me a big dork. Here’s why: I love stone walls. I think they are just amazing. I am always on the hunt for a good wall.

To me, there’s something about perfectly stacking rocks into a short fence or boundary that I just love. My “obsession” started as I read a book that was recommended by a friend and fellow stone lover. The book is called Building Stone Walls, and you won’t believe what it is about. The book has absolutely nothing to do with any metaphorical or emotional walls, but everything to do with intentionally selecting and gathering literal stones then stacking them up into a structure that will last generations.

Maybe we have read in the Bible that Jesus is sometimes called the Cornerstone or Capstone (Ps. 118:22-24; Zech. 4:6-7; Matt. 21:42-44; Acts 4:10-12; 1 Peter 2:4-10). When I read the verses above from 1 Peter 2, it is easy to recognize the capital “S” of Stone, meaning Jesus. What astonishes me is that the author, Jesus’ friend Peter [whose name means “stone”], calls me a living stone too! By the power of the gospel, we are invited to look like Christ. Not only to look like Him, but to be like Him too!

This message is consistent throughout the book of 1 Peter. If I am stone, I should be like the Cornerstone. If I want to be obedient, I need to be holy like Christ (1 Peter 1:14-15). If I am suffering, I should suffer like Christ (1 Peter 4:1-2). If I am a shepherd caring for people, I should be as much like the Good Shepherd as I can (1 Peter 5:2-4)!

I like to think that maybe I’m one of the smallest stones in this wall or spiritual house that God is transforming by His Holy Spirit, but even if I am, I know there’s something very special about being invited by Christ Himself into the honorable work that He does every day. This spiritual sacrifice that is pleasing and acceptable to God is our lives. We live every day for God. We sacrifice our desires to focus on His will. From the deepest parts of us, we are invited to be like the living Stone. If that’s true, then the Bible cannot be “just a rulebook” as some people may say, but instead, the intimate picture of what Jesus would do every single time.

As we enter this week, I hope we remember the good things God has done. He created this beautiful world. Christ died for our sins. He rose from the dead. He sat down at the right hand of God and remembers that we love Him. I pray that changes everything for us this week, not just for the better, but for the holier.

Pray: Lord, we love you. Thank you for your Word. Please transform us to look more like you every day. We want to know you and what it means to be like you. Thank you for your forgiveness when we mess up and for second chances. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Song: “Touch Your Robe” by Gable Price and Friends

Your friend and Young Adults Minister at Racine Christian Church.