LIVING STONES, NOT ROLLING STONES
(8-minute read)
SINCE HISTORIC TIMES, stones have been used for palaces, homes, places of worship and defensive walls against enemy attacks. As stone engineering advances, stones became the hallmark of architectural prowess from the Roman Empire (civilization before Christ) to the Renaissance (start of the modern world). They added stability and grandeur to landmarks and important monuments including the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, the Arc de Triomphe, and many cathedrals around the world. Their structural integrity, cultural symbolism and historical significance create impressive architectural narratives wherever they are used.
In direct reference to the prophesy about Christ in Psalm 118:22, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”, Peter (whose name means ‘rock’) also referred to Jesus as ‘the living Stone’ (1 Peter 2:4). He also pointed out that Jesus was the cornerstone of the Church, and that ‘Salvation is found in no one else’ but Jesus (1 Peter 2:6, Acts 4:11-12). He, therefore, reasoned that all believers, by their relationship with Jesus, also became ‘living stones’ (1 Peter 2:5).
‘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’ (1 Peter 2:4). As ‘living stones’, we are alive as active pillars of the church. In comparison, dead stones represent an inability to grow and be a force for good.
How about us today? Having tasted God’s goodness and faithfulness in our individual lives, do we understand the responsibility of being God’s ‘living stones’? Are we merely existing in an assembly of homogenous-looking stones without progressive transformation on the inside?
As we come to God, there are Four Important Things To Know
1. THIS IS WHO JESUS IS
The Jews in biblical times often made references to stones like corner stones and capstones in their lexicon. These were not small stones like river rocks, pebbles or gravel but large slabs and blocks, each easily weighing up to 60 metric tons. In parallel, Jesus, ‘the living Stone’ symbolizes might, strength and stability.
The prophet Isaiah had also prophesized about Jesus long before He was born, “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” (Isaiah 28:16).
In confidence, many Christians will admit that while they desire to know Jesus better, they don’t really know Him on a personal level. We are highly tolerant of a one-sided relationship with Jesus that is open on His side and guarded on our part. We have a head-knowledge of Him devoid of any intimate heart connection. But this can remain undetected by others because on the outside, we all look and act the same.
As a result, we pray unassuming prayers, glossing over God’s supremacy and sovereignty over our lives. We pray passive prayers in Jesus’ name, and wait passively for answers when, in fact, Jesus is the Living Hope and the Living Word, so anyone who is in Christ should not have dormant faith (1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 1:23).
That is who our God is.
2. THIS IS WHO WE ARE
Each of us was once dead but now, we are saved through Christ by the unmerited grace of God (Ephesians 2:4-5). We are, therefore, called ‘living stones’ and not stones that drift from place to place like rolling stones that gather no moss. As ‘living stones’, it is our responsibility to cultivate intimacy with the ‘living Stone’ Himself, and grow to be more like Him each day. Failing to do so will result in spiritual inertia, a condition that turns us into ineffective, cold and dead stones.
Jesus had earlier taught His disciples that “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25).
Peter also repeatedly wrote about believers being a ‘holy priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:4, 1 Peter 2:9-10). He called all followers ‘priests’, not in the traditional understanding of the word but as servants of God, committed to serve Him.
Knowing who we are, we need to know what we will become.
3. THIS IS WHAT WE WILL BECOME
God desires to commune with His people – not just individually but also collectively with Christ as the foundation and cornerstone. As ‘living stones’, we are not to remain isolated and withdrawn from other believers. At the same time, godly unity is not about numbers but the quality of our connection with each other. Even when we are connected in groups, we should never sacrifice personal growth for the wrong reasons.
It is unbiblical to be a solitary Christian because apart from other believers, we are practically useless as individual ‘living stones’. Only by being joined can we become a spiritual house of royal priesthood. The design and plan of God is for us to grow in healthy Christ-centred, and Word-based communities. For “In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22).
The expressions ‘whole building’, ‘joined together’ and ‘built together’ emphasize inter-dependence within the body of Christ. Jesus is not only the ‘living Stone’, but also the ‘chief cornerstone’ of God’s salvation plan for all mankind. Once and for all, He tore down all hierarchies and removed any divide between Jews and Gentiles, insiders and outsiders so that salvation is available to all people (1 Peter 2:4, Ephesians 2:20).
Knowing what we will become, what then do we do?
4.THIS IS WHAT WE WILL DO
As the Living Sacrifice, Jesus “offered for all time one sacrifice for sins” and “by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:10, 10:14). Through Christ, God abolished the offering of live animals for “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4). Instead, believers are to offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
Spiritual sacrifices include the following:
A Posture of Surrender
This involves setting aside our convictions, rights, and opinions and leaning on God’s Word, learning His ways, and letting Him steer the course of all situations in our lives. It means recognizing what the Bible teaches about sin as the standard for our lives. We surrender when we confess ongoing sins that we struggle with – including thinking or behaviour that we mislabel as a personality trait or even a virtue.
Importantly, we do not surrender to God with a sense of resignation because He is the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1). We can release to Him any fear of what it will cost us to live by God’s standards because Jesus has already born the ultimate cost to bear the penalty of sin for us.
Prayer
Believers are told to never stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As a spiritual sacrifice, it is critical for us to learn to pray unceasingly (Psalm 141:2).
Clearly, praying is not about submitting well-constructed queries and requests to God. Prayer alone does not make us more godly because while prayer shows intention, God desires obedience that is demonstrated in action more than the mere ritual of praying to Him (1 Samuel 15:22).
When we pray, we not only tell God what’s on our heart and mind, we also learn to pray according to what is on His heart. Talking to God is not like talking to an unresponsive stone wall. In fact, to pray prophetically is to listen and learn from the Holy Spirit what and how to pray. It is not a human monologue but a spiritual dialogue. As we pray, the Holy Spirit can impress upon us a Word from the Bible, convict us of any resistance to change, or give us His perspective over an issue.
The point is to stay connected and engaged with the Holy Spirit and keep the lines of communication open all the time – both ways.
Praise & Proclamation
To praise God is not to flatter Him but to keep us humble and make Him more real to us than the realities we see around us.
This is what the Bible teaches us about praise: “Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. and do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:15-16).
Anyone who struggles to experience the Word of God, and is unable to say who Jesus is on a personal level will benefit from reading the Bible systematically – book by book, chapter by chapter – and engaging the Holy Spirit to reveal evidence of the Word throughout life experience.
As ‘living stones’, we cannot be secretive or silent about who God has been to us. Our loved ones may not have the same experience with God yet, but we who have tasted and seen the goodness of God should normalize talking about it to anyone.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 20 April 2024
