Devotional - Monday, August 9th

The Living Stone and a Chosen People



1 Peter 2:4-12


As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men 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. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."


Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.


But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.


Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.



Peter is writing this letter to a collection of believers scattered across a diverse ethnic region and he is telling them that collectively, they are “a people” together. Though they may feel alone or isolated in their communities, they are a part of a privileged people group, the people of God. We too are people of God. Jesus is the living Stone, the precious Son who God chose to fulfill his purpose and sadly who, as then, is still rejected by many today. A temple is not built with just one stone but by many stones being stacked together, so are we drawn together as fellow stones with Christ as our cornerstone. In ancient times the cornerstone was the most important stone in architecture. It was a foundation stone that held the pressure where two walls joined. By putting our trust in Jesus, we will never be disappointed. This passage is an encouragement for Christian fellowship and confirms that God brings and binds us together.


We are also a people with a purpose. The priests were the ones who stood between the people and God and who offered the sacrifices in the temple. We are to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Our spiritual sacrifice is our heart, our very own being offered up to God. From this broken heart arise two main things that we do together as priests, praise and good works. We do them not in isolation, but together. Thus we have a spiritual fellowship and are spiritually connected to all Christians.


Christ was a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to the reprobate Jews who despised and rejected the word of the Gospel and everything to do with him, all of which was preordained. What makes the situation disheartening, is that God intended us all to be part of his family and in the end there will only be a remnant of all the nations that go to heaven.


For those of us who chose to believe in Christ, how wonderful to know that before we chose him, God chose us. What a privilege and an encouragement. As we grow in Christ, we are constantly being shaped into spiritual beings who are ever being refined in our journey toward everlasting life. In our daily struggles in this world (perhaps when we are belittled or embarrassed, tired or stressed), we may feel inadequate or unworthy to come into the presence of Christ. The Old Testament reference above reminds us that if we just trust in God, we will be all right. It seems such a simple thing but we need to impress it upon our minds so that we can remember and use it during those times of doubt and despair. It is comforting to know that because we have accepted Christ as our saviour and are following him we are being moulded day by day into his likeness. He is the light and all we need to keep walking in that light.


As Christians, we belong to a royal priesthood and a holy nation. If we think of royal circles here on earth, or privileged clubs, they pale by comparison! After all, we have God as our King and Jesus as our Lord.


I love verse 11. For a long time I have felt that I really do not belong in this world and this verse explains why! None of us Christians do – we belong to God's kingdom. It is interesting to see how some of the other bible versions describe this "worldly unbelonging". The Message says "friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it"; the New Living Translation, that we are "temporary residents and foreigners"; and The New English Version that we are "aliens in a foreign land". So, no wonder I feel like a stranger here.


Finally, we are called to live in such a way that those around us who do not know Christ will eventually be impacted by the way we live. With the help of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, by obeying his commands and reading his Word, we can overcome those worldly desires and temptations and be a model for unbelievers.


Janet Walker