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LIVING Stones!
In 1 Peter 2:5a (NLT), Peter painted this amazing picture. Speaking of you and me, he wrote, “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.”
Living stones. As you are about to hear in the PODCAST, Peter may have been an uneducated fisherman. But he was inarguably the master of the metaphor.
Last week, he referred to us as “priests”—a metaphor rich with a wealth of meaning once we understand the role of priests throughout the biblical narrative.
For this week, “living stones.” What a meaningful metaphor that is—“living stones.”
As we are about to learn, this is perfect for us to consider, as we consider the challenges we have faced, the trials we have endured, the obstacles we have overcome… And yet, and yet, like “living stones,” you are still standing. And for that, I applaud you!
Now to the point at hand: Does anything strike you about Peter’s reference to “living stones”?
First, let’s look at Peter’s words in a greater context:
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”8 And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10 “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. (1 Peter 2:4-12)
So, by definition, stones are lifeless, inanimate objects. Yet, Peter refers to us as “living stones”, not lifeless.
And, Peter knew a lot about rocks, seeing that the land of Israel is wrought with them.
Also, back then, stones were used to construct homes – not wood. Trees (thus wood) were used for shade, not for lumber.
Yet, from Peter’s perspective, a cultural custom of monumental significance, dating back even to the beginning of the Bible, stones were used to create monuments which honored “never to be forgotten” events.
Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. (Genesis 35:14)
Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Exodus 24:4)
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:4-7)
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord. 26 Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle of the Lord.
27 Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.” (Joshua 24:24-27)
The pattern we see here, which extends from Genesis, through Peter’s letter, and even today in the 21st century, is the purpose of the stone – the monument: so that generations upon generations will ask what the monument means and the stories of God working in the lives of His people would be told.
However, all the stones in the passages above – the ones used as monuments – are merely lifeless stones. They are in stark contrast to what Peter declares us to be: LIVING stones. However, the similarity is that when people look at either living or lifeless stones, people would look upon them and ask, “What does this mean?” And God’s people would tell them of how God is alive and well in our world.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)
So, what should living stones look like? What is apparent to those around us when we are living lives that are filled with the Holy Spirit and represent Him as a monument represents history?
…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
When you live like this, people will ask for the reason of your hope, and as you look at your lives, you will see evidence of what makes you living stones that honor God.
(This podcast is by Dewey Bertolini. discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)