Today's Meditation
Read 1 Peter 2:1-10
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” 8and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
This passage talks about Christ being a living stone, one that was rejected by humans, yet chosen and precious in God's sight. Jesus is referred to as the chief cornerstone. But what is a cornerstone? It is the first stone on the foundation of a building that a builder lays down. All other stones will be placed or set in reference to that first or chief stone.
Peter references this in his first letter to all the believers and exiles during the Diaspora (mid 1st Century) when the Jewish population near Jerusalem was forced to scatter (the literal meaning of Diaspora) throughout the Roman Empire. We are to be set in place like living stones in reference to the chief cornerstone or Jesus Christ. We are to allow ourselves to be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God.
During this Diaspora, they no longer had a temple to go to. They no longer had a place of worship to gather in; they were scattered across the Roman Empire in many different towns and cities. And yet, Peter calls them to BE like a building, a living building, set by the teachings and life of Jesus Christ.
With Jesus Christ as our Chief Cornerstone, in this new type of Diaspora, how are you a living stone, set in place in reference to Christ?
Today's musical selection is a simple refrain:
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true; with thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary, for You.
This refrain will repeat itself several times. With each repetition focus on how you can be pure and holy, tried and true, set in a living building of other believers around the world to bless this world with love and grace.
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