1 Peter 2:6 - Cornerstone

1 Peter 2:6 - Cornerstone

“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.”

I remember two things about my early years in church: graham crackers and building blocks. When I walk in the doors of my home church I crave graham crackers – I’m not kidding. As a matter of fact, I could go for some graham crackers right now…

The childcare rooms in our church had a set of cardboard building blocks that were about the size of bricks. They were painted red and to a 2nd grader, looked pretty real. I cannot imagine how many hours I spent building with those bricks – I absolutely loved it. I built houses, forts, sky-scrapers, towers…anything I could imagine. It’s shocking that I’m not an architect today – not so shocking when you consider my SAT math scores.

My building skills progressed over the years. In the beginning, I built in the middle of the room, but the shag carpet (it was the 70’s) made for a shaky foundation. So I moved over to the linoleum floor in front of the sink and got much better results. A firm foundation is critical for a strong and stable building.

As Christians, our foundation is the most secure thing in the universe: Jesus Christ. Anything built on Him will stand forever. Anything not built upon that foundation may last a lifetime, but it will be burned away at the transition to eternity. It’s the same idea that Jesus talked about in Matthew 7, the wise man builds upon a rock where the wind and rain won’t destroy. The foolish man builds on the sand – where is your building site?

Early in my construction career, I would begin my structures with any old brick, but I realized that when I started with a sturdy, square brick, my buildings were much stronger. So I began to choose the brick that had been stepped on the least, set it in the corner where the trim of the carpet gave it a little extra support, and began construction. It worked great – if your cornerstone is secure, your building will be strong.

Just as Jesus is our foundation, He is also our cornerstone. He provides the base and He also begins the building. I hope you see the point – as our strong foundation and cornerstone – Jesus is everything we need! Throw in the fact that we, the living stones, are guided, strengthened, perfected, and held together by Christ – what is left for us to worry about?

It reminds me of Romans 11:36, talking about Jesus, Paul says, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” All things were created by Christ, they are sustained by His power, and their purpose is to bring Him glory. Christ is all! And that will be the final word for today…and hopefully every day.